Christian Thomas Elvey

It was also during this period with the observatories, at a time when few others were
concerned with the that Dr. Elvey became interested in the light of the night sky
and applied photo-electric techniques to the detection and photometry of the gegenschein
and the color of the zodiacal light. Later, in conjunction with Frank E. Roach, he
carried out the first thorough photometric investigation of the light of the night
sky. This interest in the night sky was instrumental, after the war, in bringing him
to Alaska.
During the war years and immediately following, he worked in applied research on the
internal ballistics of rockets at the California Institute of Technology and, later
on propellants and high explosives at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station at China
Lake.
Dr. Elvey moved to Alaska in 1952 to become Head of the Department of Geophysics and
Director of the Geophysical Institute. He personally undertook a study of the morphology
of the aurora, contributed to the design of an all-sky camera for the IGY, and formulated
a unifying policy for the Institute based on the theme of ‘particle bombardment of
the atmosphere.’
At the administrative level he was successful in winning the confidence and support
of the electronics research Directorate of AFCRL, which greatly strengthened the financial
position of the Institute during the 1950’s. He secured major funding for the IGY
program from the National Science Foundation, and there is little doubt that the consequent
output of geophysical research during and following the IGY did much to focus favorable
attention on the Institute and Alaska, both in the United States and abroad. To name
just one other item: His research proposal of 1958 for the investigation of solar-induced
phenomena at magnetically conjugate points, a study subsequently financed by AFCRL,
proved to be a far-sighted suggestion which gave the Institute a useful lead in that
field.
In the wider sphere, Dr. Elvey is well known as a member of many U.S. and international
scientific organizations, and has been prominent in the affairs of the IGY and the
IQSY. Until 1962 he was Chairman of the Aurora and Airglow Committee of the IUGG.
He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. Air Force.
Elvey directed the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute from 1952 to 1963, a
period during which the Institute attained word-wide fame and prestige. Later he served
as the university’s first vice president for Research and Advance Study in 1961, then
as University Research Professor and assisted with the President. He retired in 1967.
On May 19, 1969 Elvey was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from the
University of Alaska for his scientific achievements.
On March 1, 1970 Dr. Christian Thomas Elvey died in Tucson, Arizona. He was 70.