to work through an explanation of his computations, with the end result being of the same order of magnitude as the known height of Mount Everest. For an encore, he would quickly work out the analogous answers for Mars, and then Jupiter; when Mars Orbiter survey results later became available, they were consistent with his computed elevation. For his finale, he would compute the energy released by dropping a bowling ball off the highest theoretical mountain on Jupiter. Weisskopf was a co-founder and board member of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He served as director-general of CERN from 1961 to 1966. In 1966 a Festschrift was published in his honor. Weisskopf was awarded the Max Planck Medal in 1956 and the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca in 1972, the National Medal of Science (1980), the Wolf Prize (1981) and the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1991). Weisskopf was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He was president of the American Physical Society (1960–61) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1976–1979). He was appointed by Pope Paul VI to the 70-member Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1975, and in 1981 he led a team of four scientists sent by Pope John Paul II to talk to President Ronald Reagan about the need to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons. In a joint statement "Preserving and Cherishing the Earth" with other noted scientists including Carl Sagan, it concluded that: "The historical record makes clear that religious teaching, example, and leadership are powerfully able to influence personal conduct and commitment ... Thus, there is a vital role for religion and science." Personal life His first wife, Ellen Tvede, died in 1989. Wiesskopf died on April 22, 2002, and was survived by his second wife Duscha, daughter of accidental Night of the Long Knives victim Willi Schmid. Decorations and awards 1956: Max Planck Medal 1971: First recipient of the George Gamow Memorial Lectureship Award from the University of Colorado Boulder 1972: Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 1976: Oersted Medal 1977: Marian Smoluchowski Medal 1978: Pour le Mérite for Arts and Sciences 1980: National Medal of Science 1981: Wolf Prize 1982: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art 1983: J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize 1984: Albert Einstein Medal 1990: Ludwig Wittgenstein Prize of the Austrian Science Fund 1991: Public Welfare Medal (United States