Verner E. Suomi
{{Short description|Finnish-American educator, inventor, and scientist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Verner Suomi
| image = Verner Suomi.jpg
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| caption = (1985)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|12|06}}
| birth_place = Eveleth, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|07|30|1915|12|06}}
| death_place = Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
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| fields = Meteorology
| workplaces = University of Wisconsin–Madison
| alma_mater = University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1953)
| thesis_title = The Heat Budget Over a Cornfield
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| thesis_year = 1953
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| notable_students =
| known_for = Satellite meteorology
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards = National Medal of Science {{small|(1976)}}
Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
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}}
Verner Edward Suomi (December 6, 1915 – 30 July 1995[https://library.ssec.wisc.edu/digital-collections/verner-e-suomi/scientific-contributions/suomi-history/ Verner E. Suomi, 1915-1995 Father of Satellite Meteorology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129161924/https://library.ssec.wisc.edu/digital-collections/verner-e-suomi/scientific-contributions/suomi-history/ |date=2023-01-29}}, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison) was a Finnish-American educator, inventor, and scientist. He is considered the father of satellite meteorology. He invented the Spin Scan Radiometer, which for many years was the instrument on the GOES weather satellites that generated the time sequences of cloud images seen on television weather shows. The Suomi NPP polar orbiting satellite, launched in 2011, was named in his honor.
Early life
Suomi was born in Eveleth, Minnesota to Swedish-speaking Finns John and Anna Suomi. His parents arrived in the United States in 1902 from the Åland Islands from Finland.{{cite journal |title=Suomi: Pragmatic Visionary |first1=John M. |last1=Lewis |first2=David W. |last2=Martin |first3=Robert M. |last3=Rabin |first4=Hans |last4=Moosmüller |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |year=2010 |volume=91 |number=5 |pages=559–577 |doi=10.1175/2009BAMS2897.1 |bibcode=2010BAMS...91..559L |doi-access=free }} (The family surname, Suomi, is of Finnish origin and means Finland in Finnish.) He was the sixth of seven children; he outlived all but two sisters, Esther and Edith. He received his first degree from Winona Teachers College (now Winona State University).Hall, Russell. [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Suomi/ Verner Suomi (1915–1995)], On The Shoulders of Giants, Earth Observatory, NASA.gov He taught high school science. Later, he attended the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD in 1953.
Career
By 1948, Suomi was among the earliest faculty members of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.{{cite news |title=Verner Suomi: Scientific Giant |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116420070/verner-e-suomi-1915-1995/ |work=The Capital Times |date=August 1, 1995 |location=Madison, WI |page=40 |access-date=January 14, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} Together with Robert Parent, in 1965, Suomi founded the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) there. From this, came the first weather satellite to provide imagery from a geostationary orbit and was named the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS-1), launched on 6 December 1966, that included a Spin Scan Radiometer. The subsequent ATS-3, launched in November 1967, using a spin scan camera, made what would be known as the first color images of the whole earth.[http://library.ssec.wisc.edu/spinscan/index.php] ATS-III image collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Suomi led the development of McIDAS (Man-computer Interactive Data Access System) in 1972,Hall, Russell. [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Suomi/suomi_3.php Verner Suomi (1915–1995) (p.3)], On The Shoulders of Giants, Earth Observatory, NASA.gov displaying the images produced by his satellites such as SMS-1 in 1974.
A very popular professor, he formally retired from teaching in 1986.
A list of his publications is being curated at the University of Wisconsin {{Cite web |title=Verner E Suomi Publications |url=https://pubs.ssec.wisc.edu/research_Resources/publications/affiliation/author?authorText=Suomi,%20Verner%20E.&numOfRecs=25}}
Honors and awards
Suomi was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1966, elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1976,{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Verner+E.+Suomi&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}} awarded the National Medal of Science and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1977,{{Cite web |title=Verner Edward Suomi |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/verner-edward-suomi |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences |language=en}} awarded the Franklin Medal in 1984, the Charles Franklin Brooks Award from the American Meteorological Society in 1980; a lifetime achievement award from the International Meteorological Organization, and numerous other awards and honors including the World Meteorological Organization's International Meteorological Organization Prize (the IMO Prize) and the first Walter Ahlstrom Prize.
The American Meteorological Society established the Verner E. Suomi Technology Medal, in his honor. https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/about-ams/ams-awards-honors/awards/science-and-technology-medals/the-verner-e-suomi-award/ It is granted to individuals in recognition of highly significant technological achievement in the atmospheric or related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. The term "technological" is used here in the broadest sense; it encompasses the entire spectrum of instrumentation, as well as observational, measurement, data transmission, and data analysis and synthesis methodologies.
On January 24, 2012, NASA renamed a recently launched NPP Earth monitoring satellite after Dr. Suomi.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6760135001/ "Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth - Blue Marble 2012"], NASA @ Flickr.com, 25 January 2012. On that occasion, John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said that "Verner Suomi's many scientific and engineering contributions were fundamental to our current ability to learn about Earth's weather and climate from space."{{cite news |last = Herzog |first = Karen |title = Satellite renamed to honor UW's Suomi |newspaper = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date = January 26, 2012 |url = http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/satellite-renamed-to-honor-uws-suomi-rj3v6n5-138172504.html |access-date = 2012-01-29 }} The Suomi NPP houses the VIIRS instrument that provided the images which were combined to make the 2012 The Blue Marble photo.Memmott, Mark. [https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/25/145843287/blue-marble-2012-nasas-most-amazing-high-def-image-of-earth-so-far "'Blue Marble 2012': NASA's 'Most Amazing' High Def Image Of Earth So Far"], The Two-Way, National Public Radio, 25 January 2012.
Personal life
Notes
{{Reflist|2}}
Further reading
- {{Forummag|title=Väderprofessor fick miljöpris|author=Katarina Koivisto|url=https://forum-mag.fi/vaderprofessor-fick-miljopris/|access-date=|date=1990-11-22|issue=1990-18|page=19|year=1990|language=sv-SE}}
External links
- [https://profhorn.aos.wisc.edu/wxwise/museum/ Suomi Virtual Museum] (includes photo of Suomi)
- [http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/ The Space Science and Engineering Center]
- [http://library.ssec.wisc.edu/SuomiWebsite Suomi Website - The Father of Satellite Meteorology]. {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808115300/http://library.ssec.wisc.edu/SuomiWebsite/|date=2014-08-08}}
- [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-110A NASA ATS-1 (1966) page] - NSSDC ID: 1966-110A
- [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1974-033A-01 NASA SMS-1 (1974) page] - NSSDC ID: 1974-033A-01 - explanation of Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer
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Category:American meteorologists
Category:University of Chicago alumni
Category:Winona State University alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Category:Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal recipients
Category:National Medal of Science laureates
Category:American people of Finnish descent