David Rubincam

David Perry Rubincam (born February 27, 1947) is an American geophysicist known for his work in solid-earth geophysics, planetary geodynamics, and celestial mechanics. He worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) from 1978 until his retirement in 2018, where he made significant contributions to understanding non-gravitational effects on the motion of planetary bodies. In 2000, Rubincam coined the term Yarkovsky–O'Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack effect (YORP effect) to describe how sunlight can alter the spin rates and orientations of small celestial bodies. The main-belt asteroid 9921 Rubincam was named in his honor.