Grant Heiken: key obituary facts
Is Grant Heiken dead? Yes. Grant Heiken died on October 11, 2026, at age 84.
Cause of death: Grant Heiken's cause of death was reported as Mesothelioma.
What was Grant Heiken known for?
He was a volcanologist.
More about Grant Heiken
Born: 11 October 1942.
Gender: male.
Occupation: researcher, geologist.
Nationality: United States.
Education: University of California, Berkeley, University of Texas at Austin, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Employer: Lunar and Planetary Institute, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Awards: Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Grant H.
Heiken, an American volcanologist who studied volcanic processes and materials on Earth and the moon, died of mesothelioma on October 11, 2026, aged 84. Born on October 11, 1942, he studied geology at the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin before completing a doctorate in volcanology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His doctoral adviser was volcanologist R. V. Fisher, and Heiken was the first student enrolled in the university’s new doctoral program. From 1969 to 1974, during the Apollo program, Heiken worked for NASA in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where he taught geology to astronauts and researched lunar materials. He joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 1975, taking on work that included volcanic hazards, geothermal exploration and continental scientific drilling. His research ranged across volcanic materials and processes on both the moon and Earth. Heiken also served as president of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior from 1995 to 1999. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and worked as a researcher and geologist, including at the Lunar and Planetary Institute and Los Alamos National Laboratory.