Gilbert Levin

Gilbert Victor Levin (April 23, 1924 – July 26, 2021) was an American engineer, the founder of Biospherics and the principal investigator of the Viking mission Labeled Release experiment.[1] He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.[2]

In 1997, Levin published his conclusion that a 1976 Viking lander had discovered living microorganisms on Mars.[1][3] He is noted for still claiming that his experiment on board the 1976 Viking Mars landers to detect microscopic life on Mars rendered a true positive result. On April 12, 2012, an international team including Levin reported their analysis "support the interpretation that the Viking LR experiment did detect extant microbial life on Mars." The team used cluster analysis of the Labeled Release experiments of the Viking program.[4][5][6]

He was one of the science advisers of the International Committee Against Mars Sample Return.[7][8]

He also patented an inexpensive method to make tagatose, an artificial sweetener, in 1988.[9]

Levin died in Bethesda, Maryland after an aortic dissection on July 26, 2021, at the age of 97.[2][10]

Publications

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Dr Gilbert V Levin - Research on Mars". www.gillevin.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Chang, Kenneth (August 4, 2021). "Gilbert V. Levin, Who Said He Found Signs of Life on Mars, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Levin, Gilbert V. (October 10, 2019). "I'm Convinced We Found Evidence of Life on Mars in the 1970s". Scientific American. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Bianciardi, Giorgio; Miller, Joseph D.; Straat, Patricia Ann; Levin, Gilbert V. (March 2012). "Complexity Analysis of the Viking Labeled Release Experiments". IJASS. 13 (1): 14–26. Bibcode:2012IJASS..13...14B. doi:10.5139/IJASS.2012.13.1.14.
  5. ^ Life on Mars Found by NASA's Viking Mission?
  6. ^ Spie (2014). "Gilbert Levin: Mars microbes -- proof from the Viking missions?". SPIE.TV on YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
  7. ^ ICAMSR Advisors, retrieved July 16, 2013
  8. ^ Richard Stenger Mars sample return plan carries microbial risk, group warns, CNN, November 7, 2000
  9. ^ A Natural Way to Stay Sweet, NASA, archived from the original on January 6, 2005, retrieved September 2, 2009.
  10. ^ "What'sNEW in Cosmic Ancestry, beginning Jul 2021". www.panspermia.org. Retrieved August 3, 2021.