On September 30, 2011, Charles P. Sonett, second LPL director, first Planetary Sciences department head, and Regents' Professor of Planetary Sciences Emeritus, died from complications of Parkinson's disease. Charles "Chuck" Sonett was born January 15, 1924, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Hungarian parents. When Chuck was young his family moved to the desert town of Trona, California, some forty miles from Death Valley. There he became interested in geology and astronomy. Read more