Neil B. Ward
{{short description|American meteorologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Neil Ward
|image =
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|birth_date = June 26, 1914
|birth_place = Purcell, Oklahoma, United States
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1972|04|12|1914|06|26|mf=yes}}
|death_place = Norman, Oklahoma, United States
|fields = Physics, meteorology
|workplaces = Weather Bureau
National Severe Storms Laboratory
|alma_mater = University of Oklahoma
Texas A&M University
|known_for = Physical modeling of tornadoes
First scientific storm chaser
|awards =
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}}
Neil Burgher Ward (June 26, 1914 – April 12, 1972) was an American meteorologist who is credited as the first scientific storm chaser, developing ideas of thunderstorm and tornado structure and evolution as well as techniques for forecasting and severe weather intercept. He also was a pioneering developer of physical models of tornadoes, first at his home, then at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma. He significantly furthered the modern scientific understanding of atmospheric vortices, particularly tornadoes.{{cite journal |last=Bluestein |first=Howard B. |author-link=Howard B. Bluestein |title=A History of Severe-Storm-Intercept Field Programs |journal=Weather Forecast. |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=558–77 |date=August 1999 |doi=10.1175/1520-0434(1999)014<0558:AHOSSI>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=1999WtFor..14..558B|doi-access=free }}
Biography
Ward first studied mechanical engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU). In 1939, he began working for the Weather Bureau as a weather observer, eventually becoming a forecaster. Earning two scholarships, he attended graduate school at Texas A&M University, the University of Oklahoma, and Colorado State University (CSU), beginning in late 1956. He studied fluid mechanics and developed an increasing interest in atmospheric vortices by the early 1950s.{{cite journal |last=Ward |first=Neil B. |title=The Exploration of Certain Features of Tornado Dynamics Using a Laboratory Model |journal=J. Atmos. Sci. |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=1194–204 |date=September 1972 |doi=10.1175/1520-0469(1972)029<1194:TEOCFO>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1972JAtS...29.1194W |hdl=2027/uc1.31822008846206 |hdl-access=free }} Neil was a research scientist at NSSL from the first year of its operation in 1964 until his death in 1972.{{cite journal |last=Rhoden |first=Gene |title=Storm Pioneer: A Biography of Neil B. Ward |journal =Storm Track |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=4–7 |year=1990 |url=http://www.stormtrack.org/library/people/ward.htm }} He began actively pursuing storms on the road in 1961, coordinating with radar information via the Oklahoma Highway Patrol radio.{{cite conference |first=Neil B. |last=Ward |title=Radar and surface observations of tornadoes of May 4, 1961 |book-title=Proc. Ninth Weather Radar Conf. |pages=175–80 |publisher=American Meteorological Society |date=1961 |location=Kansas City, MO }}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
- {{cite journal | last1 = Ward | first1 = Neil B. |date=Oct 1964| title = Contoured Radar Display of a Line of Thunderstorms |journal = Mon. Wea. Rev. | volume = 92 | issue = 10| page = 475 |bibcode = 1964MWRv...92..475W |doi = 10.1175/1520-0493(1964)092<0475:CRDOAL>2.3.CO;2 | doi-access = free }}
- {{cite journal |last = Ward |first = Neil |title = A Note on the Effects of Pressure Gradients on Fluid Flow with Atmospheric Applications |journal = J. Atmos. Sci. |volume = 29 |issue = 5 |pages = 982–4 |date = Jul 1972 |doi = 10.1175/1520-0469(1972)029<0982:ANOTEO>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1972JAtS...29..982W |doi-access = free }}
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Category:People from Purcell, Oklahoma
Category:University of Oklahoma alumni
Category:Texas A&M University alumni
Category:American meteorologists
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