David Atlas
{{Short description|American meteorologist and radar pioneer}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = David Atlas
|image = David Atlas Weather radar pionneer.jpg
|image_size =
|alt =
|caption =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|05|25}}
|birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|11|10|1924|05|25}}
|death_place = Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
|resting_place =
|resting_place_coordinates =
|fields = Meteorology
|workplaces = U.S. Air Force, University of Chicago, National Center for Atmospheric Research and NASA
|alma_mater =
|thesis_title =
|thesis_url =
|thesis_year =
|doctoral_advisor =
|academic_advisors =
|doctoral_students =
|notable_students =
|known_for = Radar meteorology
|influences =
|influenced =
|awards = Numerous, including Symons Memorial of the RMS in 1989 and Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal in 1996 from the AMS
|signature =
|signature_alt =
|website =
|footnotes =
|spouse =
}}
David Atlas (May 25, 1924 – November 10, 2015) was an American meteorologist and one of the pioneers of radar meteorology. His career extended from World War II to his death: he worked for the US Air Force, then was professor at the University of Chicago and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), researcher at NASA and private consultant. Atlas owned 22 patents, published more than 260 papers, was a member of many associations, and received numerous honors in his field.
Early life
Atlas was born May 25, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, from Jewish parents who immigrated from Poland and Russia.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nU_jIyhvKOUC&pg=PA14|title=A to Z of Scientists in Weather and Climate | author= Don Rittner | publisher= Infobase Publishing | date= January 2009 | accessdate = November 11, 2015 | pages= 14–15|isbn=9781438109244 }}{{cite web | title = Atlas, David | publisher = jewishvirtuallibrary.org | url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01559.html | accessdate = November 11, 2015 }} He studied primary and high school in Brooklyn, starting college in City College of New York afterward. He served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War in the US Army Air Corps, where he worked on the development of radars, in particular on the problem of precipitation echos.
After the war, Atlas remained in the U.S. Air Force for 18 years, working at the Cambridge Research Laboratories, in Bedford, Massachusetts, as head of a research team on weather radars while working on his Master and Doctorate degrees. He particularly investigated the Doppler Effect for use in wind measurement.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nae.edu/Activities/Projects/Awards/FoundersAwards/55484/55486.aspx|title=David Atlas |work=Biography|publisher=National Academy of Engineering|year= 2011 |accessdate = November 11, 2015 }}
Career
From 1966 to 1972, Atlas was professor of meteorology at the University of Chicago. From 1972 to 1976, he was the director of the atmospheric technologies division at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado. The results of his team were used for the development of the actual United States Doppler weather radars network called NEXRAD.
In 1977, Atlas formed the Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences at the NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This center has produced numerous meteorological instruments to be used on weather satellites for study of the atmosphere, the oceans, and the cryosphere.
Atlas officially retired in 1984, but remained active in the meteorology research community, in particular in radar meteorology. He still worked until recently at Goddard, he is a fellow of the American Geophysical Society, the Royal Meteorological Society (RMS),and the National Academy of Engineering. Atlas is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS),{{Cite web
|url=http://www.ametsoc.org/memdir/fellowslist/get_listoffellows.cfm
|title=List of AMS Fellows
|publisher=American Meteorological Society
|accessdate= November 11, 2015 }} and a previous president in 1975.{{Cite web
|url=https://www2.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/about-ams/ams-organization-and-administration/past-presidents-directory/
|title=Past Presidents of the AMS
|publisher=American Meteorological Society
|accessdate=November 11, 2015}}
He received numerous awards, including the Symons Gold Medal of the RMS in 1988 and the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal in 1996 from AMS.{{Cite web
|url = http://www.rmets.org/sites/rmets.org/files/awards-historical_0.pdf
|title = Historical List of Awards
|publisher = Royal Meteorological Society
|accessdate = November 11, 2015
}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite web
|url=http://www.ametsoc.org/awards/search.cfm
|title=Award for Extraordinary Scientific Achievement 1951-1999 (Médaille Carl-Gustaf Rossby)
|date= 28 December 1999
|publisher= American Meteorological Society
|accessdate=November 11, 2015
|postscript= (Write 1996 in the year box)
}} He received in 2004, the Dennis J. Picard Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for "exceptionally outstanding leadership and significant individual technical contributions to the application of radar for the observation of weather and other atmospheric phenomena".{{Cite web
|url = https://www.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/picard_rl.pdf
|title = IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications
|year = 2004
|publisher = IEEE
|access-date = November 17, 2018
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120929084632/http://www.ieee.org/documents/picard_rl.pdf
|archive-date = 2012-09-29
|url-status = dead
}}
Death
Atlas died on November 10, 2015, from complications following a stroke in Silver Spring, Maryland, at the age of 91.{{cite web |url=http://thevane.gawker.com/dr-david-atlas-one-of-the-meteorologists-who-led-the-1741788683 |title=David Atlas |author=Dennis Mersereau |date=November 10, 2015 |website=thevane.gawker.com |accessdate=November 11, 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112144123/http://thevane.gawker.com/dr-david-atlas-one-of-the-meteorologists-who-led-the-1741788683 |archivedate=November 12, 2015 }}{{cite news| url = http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?pid=176451550 | title= David Atlas | newspaper = The Washington Post | accessdate= November 28, 2015}}
See also
{{Portal|Weather|United States}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
Bibliography
- David Atlas, Radar in Meteorology: Battan Memorial and 40th Anniversary Radar Meteorology Conference, published by the American Meteorological Society, Boston, 1990, 806 pages, {{ISBN|0-933876-86-6}}, AMS Code RADMET.
- David Atlas, Reflections: A Memoir, série Historical Monograph published by the American Meteorological Society, Boston, 2001, 144 pages, {{ISBN|1-878220-46-2}}; AMS Code REFLECTIONS.
- Roger M. Wakimoto et Ramesh Srivastava: Radar and Atmospheric Science: A Collection of Essays in Honor of David Atlas, Meteorological Monograph Volume 30, issue 52 published by the American Meteorological Society, Boston, August 2003, 270 pages, {{ISBN|1-878220-57-8}}; AMS Code MM52.
External links
- {{Cite web |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGDFUNWSIjc | title= David Atlas Maniac Lecture, 25 September 2013 | publisher = NASA Goddard Center | accessdate= November 22, 2013}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlas, David}}
Category:American meteorologists
Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:Jewish American scientists
Category:Weather radar pioneers
Category:University of Chicago faculty
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Category:Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal recipients