Joanne Simpson
Encyclopedia
Joanne Simpson was the first woman to ever receive a Ph.D. in meteorology
. She eventually became NASA
's lead weather researcher and authored or co-authored over 190 articles. Simpson contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences, particularly in the field of tropical meteorology. She has researched hot tower
s, hurricanes, the trade winds, air-sea interactions, and helped develop the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
.
Simpson was a member of the National Academy of Engineering
and a recipient of the American Meteorological Society's Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
, its highest honor, for "outstanding contributions to man's understanding of the structure of the atmosphere."
Simpson was a graduate of the University of Chicago
. In the following 30 years, before joining NASA, she researched and/or taught at various places, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, UCLA, NOAA, and the University of Virginia.
She had to endure years of not being taken seriously by her male colleagues and being passed over for jobs simply because of her sex. She is quoted as saying winning the Carl-Gustav Rossby Research Medal in 1983 made her feel "it isn't really so ridiculous that I did all of this. I'm not really a freak; I am a member of the community."
Yet, poignantly, in an article published in the New York Academy of Sciences Annals, she was quoted as saying "I am not convinced that either the position, rewards or achievements have been worth the cost. My personal and married life and child raising have surely suffered from the professional attainments I have achieved."
Her brother Daniel Gerould is the Lucille Lortel Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and Director of Publications of the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center.
Simpson died March 4, 2010 in Washington D.C., surrounded by her family.
and calculated the average moist static energy
and how it varied vertically throughout the atmosphere. They noted that at altitudes up to approximately 750 hPa
the moist static energy decreased with height. Above 750 hPa, the moist static energy increased with height which had neither been observed or explained before. Riehl and Malkus realized that this must be due to moist convection that started near the surface that continued rising relatively adiabatically to near 50000 feet (15,240 m). They called these clouds "undiluted chimneys" but they would later be commonly referred to as hot tower
s. They estimated that it would take less than 5,000 of these towers daily throughout the tropics to result in the moist static energy profile they observed.
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
. She eventually became NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's lead weather researcher and authored or co-authored over 190 articles. Simpson contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences, particularly in the field of tropical meteorology. She has researched hot tower
Hot tower
A hot tower is a tropical cumulonimbus cloud that penetrates the tropopause, i.e. it reaches out of the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, into the stratosphere. In the tropics, the tropopause typically lies at least 15 km above sea level...
s, hurricanes, the trade winds, air-sea interactions, and helped develop the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission is a joint space mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. The term refers to both the mission itself and the satellite that the mission uses to collect data...
.
Simpson was a member of the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
and a recipient of the American Meteorological Society's Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal is the highest award for atmospheric science of the American Meteorological Society. It is presented to individual scientists, who receive a medal...
, its highest honor, for "outstanding contributions to man's understanding of the structure of the atmosphere."
Simpson was a graduate of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. In the following 30 years, before joining NASA, she researched and/or taught at various places, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, UCLA, NOAA, and the University of Virginia.
She had to endure years of not being taken seriously by her male colleagues and being passed over for jobs simply because of her sex. She is quoted as saying winning the Carl-Gustav Rossby Research Medal in 1983 made her feel "it isn't really so ridiculous that I did all of this. I'm not really a freak; I am a member of the community."
Yet, poignantly, in an article published in the New York Academy of Sciences Annals, she was quoted as saying "I am not convinced that either the position, rewards or achievements have been worth the cost. My personal and married life and child raising have surely suffered from the professional attainments I have achieved."
Her brother Daniel Gerould is the Lucille Lortel Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and Director of Publications of the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center.
Simpson died March 4, 2010 in Washington D.C., surrounded by her family.
Research
In 1958, Malkus collaborated with Herbert RiehlHerbert Riehl
Herbert Riehl was a German-born American meteorologist who is widely regarded as the father of tropical meteorology...
and calculated the average moist static energy
Moist static energy
The moist static energy is a thermodynamic variable that describes the state of an air parcel, and is similar to the equivalent potential temperature. The moist static energy is a combination of a parcels kinetic energy due to an air parcel's temperature, its potential energy due to its height...
and how it varied vertically throughout the atmosphere. They noted that at altitudes up to approximately 750 hPa
HPA
-Organizations:*Halifax Port Authority, a port authority in Canada*Hamburg Port Authority, the port authority for the Port of Hamburg, Germany*Health Protection Agency, a health organization in the United Kingdom...
the moist static energy decreased with height. Above 750 hPa, the moist static energy increased with height which had neither been observed or explained before. Riehl and Malkus realized that this must be due to moist convection that started near the surface that continued rising relatively adiabatically to near 50000 feet (15,240 m). They called these clouds "undiluted chimneys" but they would later be commonly referred to as hot tower
Hot tower
A hot tower is a tropical cumulonimbus cloud that penetrates the tropopause, i.e. it reaches out of the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, into the stratosphere. In the tropics, the tropopause typically lies at least 15 km above sea level...
s. They estimated that it would take less than 5,000 of these towers daily throughout the tropics to result in the moist static energy profile they observed.
External links
- Simpson's private citizen statement
- Simpson's NASA biography
- Article by Simpson on global warming issues
- Grand Times article on Simpson
- Another NASA biography
- Keeping her head in the clouds USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
04/13/00 - Joanne Simpson, 1923-2010. NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Earth Observatory Image of the Day March 9, 2010. - Obituary: Joanne Simpson (1923–2010), Nature News, by Robert A. Houze, Jr