R606
Husband: John Armstead Wood, Jr. (Facebook)
Father: John Armstead Wood [R560]
Mother: Lillian Cary (Hall) Wood [R560]
Born: July 28, 1932 in Roanoke, Va.
First wife: M. 6/12/1958 to E. Mathilde Heuser (b. 5/9/1934 in Wernigerode, Germany), in Hanover N.H.
Children (Fig. R606a):
Crispin S. Wood (B. 5/29/1961 in Boston Mass.; m. Justine Covault 6/13/1997, dau. Haley Georgia Wood, b. 6/21/1999)
Georgia K. Wood (B. 2/9/1964 in Chicago Ill.; m. William Riddell 10/14/2000, son Martin Charles Riddell, b. 1/4/2002)
Second wife: M. 9/9/1989 to Julie Marie Nason (nee Laffey)
Father: Frederick Paul Laffey
Mother: Eileen Mary Calnan Laffey
Born: 3/5/1949 in Lawrence, Mass.
Married: 9/9/1989 in Newport, R.I. (Fig. R606b).
(2012) I studied Geology at V.P.I. (B.S., 1954), where I was in the Corps of Cadets (Fig. 606c) and received a commission in the Corps of Engineers. Thereafter I was a graduate student at M.I.T, where in 1958 I received a Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics. While there I became interested in rocks from space (meteorites) and the information they contain about the origin of the planets, and I began working at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. in my last student year.
I continued for my whole professional career at the SAO, with the exception of a three-year postdoc interval (1962-5) at the University of Chicago where I worked with Dr. Edward Anders (see
career in science).
My background and interests put me in a position to apply to study the first samples from the moon, when they were collected and returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969. My application was accepted, and I made valuable contributions in those exciting times.
I retired from my space science career in 2004, and have worked at being an oil painter since then (see art).
Julie studied Elementary Education at the University of Connecticut (B.S., 1971) and continued on to earn an M.A. in Reading Instruction, also at UCONN, in 1972. She began her teaching career in Amherst, N.H. the same year as a reading specialist. In 1984 she entered the educational publishing world, beginning with Houghton Mifflin, then Silver Burdett Ginn, and a variety of other publishers; then she once again became a graduate student. In 1990 she was accepted into the Technology in Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she studied for two years while working full-time in publishing, earning an Ed.M. in 1992. A strong desire to deepen her studies led her to a doctoral program in Language & Literacy, also at HGSE, in 1993. While completing her studies she became a member of the faculty at HGSE and continued to teach graduate students for several years after earning her Ed.D. in 1999. Julie's thesis research focused on innovative teachers who used new technologies in their classrooms to help all children succeed as learners.
Currently she operates an independent consulting business as a creative expert in digital learning. Her focus is on developing children’s educational media to support literacy learning, particularly for students in underserved communities. She is also an author of books for teachers and children, a public speaker, and a researcher. Her web site is www.juliemwood.com.
