Joseph Smagorinsky
Encyclopedia
Joseph Smagorinsky was an American meteorologist and the first director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
.
, which they fled during the life-threatening pogroms of the early 20th Century. Nathan and Dina bore three sons in Gomel: Jacob (who died as an infant), Samuel (b. 1903), and David (b. 1907). In 1913, Nathan emigrated from the coast of Finland
, passing through Ellis Island
and settling on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
. Nathan at first was a house painter. Then, with the help of a relative, he opened a paint store. In 1916, with the business established, Dina, Sam, and David emigrated by going to Murmansk
(Archangel) and then southward along the Norwegian coast to Christiana (now Oslo
) and boarding a boat to New York where they joined Nathan. They had two other children: Hillel (Harry) (b. 1919) and Joseph (b. 1924). Like his three brothers, Joseph worked in their father's paint store, which over the years evolved into a hardware and paint store. Sam and Harry stayed in the painting and hardware business, with Harry eventually taking ownership of the original store. As a teenager, David began painting signs for shop owners and subsequently opened a sign painting business. Joseph attended Stuyvesant High School
for Math and Science in Manhattan. When he expressed an interest in going to college, the family had a meeting in which they discussed the possibility. Sam and David prevailed in their view that Joseph had great promise and deserved the opportunity to go to college.
. In the middle of his sophomore year at NYU, he entered the air force and joined an elite group of cadet recruits, chosen for their talents in mathematics and
physics. Those talents led Smagorinsky to be selected for the air force meteorology program. He and other recruits were then sent to Brown University
to study mathematics and physics for six months. He was then sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
to learn dynamical meteorology. His instructor was Ed Lorenz, who later pioneered the mathematical theory of deterministic chaos. During the war Smagorinsky flew in the nose of bombers as a weather observer, making weather forecasts based on visible factors such as the estimated size of waves, and the observed air temperature and wind velocity at the plane’s altitude.
Following the war, Smagorinsky concluded his studies. He originally aspired to be a naval architect, but was not admitted to the Webb Institute
. He then turned to meteorology
as a career and educational focus. As a doctoral student, while serving the remainder of his army commitment, he attended a lecture on weather forecasting conducted by Jule Charney, and asked a series of pointed questions during the question-and-answer session following the talk. Charney, a prominent atmospheric scientist, invited Smagorinsky to the Princeton, NJ Institute for Advanced Study
to examine the possible predictability of large-scale motions in the middle troposphere
(the lower part of the atmosphere) using the new electronic computer being designed by John von Neumann
. In April 1950, Smagorinsky participated in a major milestone of modern meteorology; together with Ragnar Fjortoft, John Freeman and George Platzman, he worked with Charney to solve Charney’s simplest equations on the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC
). Von Neumann’s new Princeton computer had been delayed so arrangements were made with the Army to use its computer at Aberdeen, Maryland. The results were realistic enough to demonstrate that weather prediction by numerical process was a promising prospect. After the ENIAC work, Smagorinsky moved to the Institute for Advanced Study to work with Charney and von Neumann on the development of a radical new approach to weather forecasting that employed the new technology of the computer
.
Before the advent of computers in the late 1940s, weather forecasting
was very crude. George Platzman of the University of Chicago
felt that “academic meteorology in this country is still suffering from the trade-school blues.” The American Meteorological Society
and its leaders, most of whom taught in universities, still aspired to turn meteorology into a professional discipline given the same respect accorded engineering and the physical sciences. An exceptional mathematician, von Neumann was among the first to see the potential afforded by computers for much faster processing of data and thus more responsive weather forecasting. He was not satisfied with mathematics as an abstract practice. Weather forecasting provided him with a very concrete application of mathematical principles that could exploit the new computer technology. At the Institute for Advanced Study, he used his mathematical knowledge and Smagorinsky worked with Charney to develop a new approach called numerical weather prediction
. This approach relied on data collected from weather balloons. The data were then fed into computers and subjected to the laws of physics, enabling forecasts of how turbulence, water, heat, and other factors interacted to produce weather patterns. (Smagorinsky endeared himself to his children by visiting their elementary school classrooms to demonstrate how weather balloons worked.)
In his doctoral dissertation, conducted at NYU under the direction of Bernhard Haurwitz, Smagorinsky developed a new theory for how heat sources and sinks in midlatitudes, created by the thermal contrast between land and oceans, disturbed the path of the jet stream. This theory provided one of the first applications of Jule Charney's remarkable simplification of the equations of motion for the atmosphere, now known as quasi-gesotrophic theory. This work benefited greatly from interactions with Charney at the Institute for Advanced Study. This theory has been elaborated over the years to provide numerous insights into the maintenance of the climate in midlatitudes and the interaction between the tropics and midlatitudes.
in 1963. The lab moved to its current home at Princeton University
in 1968. Smagorinsky continued to direct the lab until his retirement in January, 1983.
Smagorinsky's key insight was that the increasing power of computers would allow one to move beyond simulating the evolution of the atmosphere for a few days, as in weather prediction, and move toward the simulation of the Earth's climate. The intention of such simulations is not to predict the detailed evolution of the weather, but by integrating the equations of motion, thermodynamics, and radiative transfer for long enough time periods to simulate the statistics of the weather—the climate—enabling one to study how these statistics were controlled by the atmospheric composition, the character of the Earth's surface, and the circulation of the oceans.
Among Dr. Smagorinsky’s many talents was attracting creative scientists to the staff of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Two of them were climate modeler Syukuro Manabe
in 1959 and ocean modeler Kirk Bryan
in 1961, who spearheaded the development of the first climate model in 1969, a general circulation model that was the first approach to take into account the interactions of oceans and atmosphere. Smagorinsky assigned Manabe to the General Circulation Model coding and development effort. By 1963, Smagorinsky, Manabe, and their collaborators had completed a nine-level, hemispheric primitive-equation General Circulation Model. Manabe was given a large programming staff and was thus able to focus on mathematical structure of the models, without becoming overly involved in coding. In 1955-56, Smagorinsky collaborated with John von Neumann, Jule Charney, and Norman Phillips to develop a 2-level, zonal hemispheric model using a subset of the primitive equations. Beginning in 1959, he proceeded to develop a nine-level primitive-equation General Circulation Model (still hemispheric). By the end of the next decade, general circulation models emerged globally as a central tool in climate research. Other researchers who worked with Smagorinsky in Washington and Princeton included Isidoro Orlanski, Jerry Mahlman
, Syukuro Manabe
, Yoshio Kurihara, Kikuro Miyakoda, Rod Graham, Leith Holloway, Isaac Held, Garreth Williams, George Philander, and Douglas Lilly.
Development of this first climate model was based on Smagorinsky’s belief that individual inquiry would be inadequate for addressing such a complex problem. He realized that it would take large-scale numerical modeling with teams of scientists using commonly shared high-speed computers to achieve such a breakthrough. As stated in a 1992 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
, “Dr. Smagorinsky’s almost relentless pursuit of excellence at Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
set a standard for other laboratories and centers that have contributed immensely to the growth of meteorology as a science” throughout the world. Michael MacCracken, President of International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, wrote following Smagorinsky's death that “From its earliest days, GFDL has been world renowned, with an outstanding set of scientists doing outstanding work that attracted scientists from around the world to come to learn and collaborate – and then return to their home countries or other institutions as outstanding scientists. Not only a whole new scientific field of investigation, but a community of scientists capable of doing it well has been created.”
Smagorinsky invited many scientists from outside the normal circle to provide the broadest perspective on weather forecasts. Very early in his career, he brought pioneering oceanographer Kirk Bryan to GFDL to account for oceanic influences on the weather; and shortly following World War II, with the nation still leery of Japan, he invited Suki Manabe, Yoshio Kurihara, and Kikuro Miyakoda to GFDL, valuing their scientific expertise and potential and ignoring the xenophobia that might have discouraged such international collaboration. He continued this practice of inviting scientists to GFDL who could take on the project of producing a comprehensive theory of atmospheric processes, valuing talent and creativity over what he regarded as irrelevant factors such as field or nationality. Jerry Mahlman, who succeeded Smagorinsky as director of GFDL at Princeton, writes that Smagorinsky "had no real interest in the 'university scientific culture' that still has a tendency to count scientific publications, rather than scientific achievements, as its measure of faculty success. Joe would have none of that. He wanted junior scientists such as us to focus on solving difficult scientific challenges of major relevance to NOAA, the United States, and the world. . . . Without Joe’s support and encouragement, would Manabe have written the first paper on the science of global warming in 1967? Would Bryan have produced the world’s first ocean model in 1970? Would Manabe and Bryan have produced the world’s first coupled atmosphere–ocean model in 1972? Would I have produced the first comprehensive stratospheric dynamical/chemical model? Would Miyakoda have pioneered extended-range weather forecasting? For my research, the answer is: almost certainly not. Without the level of scientific and computational support provided by Joe, these achievements would have required at least another decade of development to achieve success."
Smagorinsky was among the earliest researchers who sought to exploit new methods of numerical weather prediction
to extend forecasting past one or two days. Smagorinsky published a seminal paper in 1963 on his research using primitive equations of atmospheric dynamics to simulate the atmosphere’s circulation. This paper fundamentally changed the approach to modeling climate. He extended early weather models to include variables such as wind, cloud cover, precipitation, atmospheric pressure and radiation emanating from the earth and sun. In order to make these simulations possible, a method was needed to account for atmospheric turbulence that occurred on scales smaller than the model's grid size but still played a crucial role in the atmospheric energy cycle. With colleagues Douglas Lilly and James Deardorff, both at the National Center for Atmospheric Research
, he developed one of the first successful approaches to large eddy simulation
(e.g., the Smagorinsky-Lilly model), providing a solution to this problem that is still in use, not only in meteorology, but in all fields involving fluid dynamics.
Smagorinsky earned fame for his ability to secure the world's fastest computers for his laboratory time and time again. At the memorial gathering at Princeton University following Smagorinsky's death, Suki Manabe playfully suggested that Joe always attended meetings with government officials with a resignation letter in hand, ready to present it if his needs weren't met. However he achieved his goals, he did so with remarkable consistency, much to the amazement of those who wondered how a single government scientist had such leverage in the highly competitive battle for limited resources. Jerry Mahlman wrote that “Without the level of scientific and computational support provided by Joe, these achievements [global warming, increasingly sophisticated computer models, extended weather forecasting] would have required at least another decade of development to achieve.” This remark that Smagorinsky had advanced his field by at least a decade was echoed by several speakers at his memorial.
made the point in his remarks at the Princeton lecture after Smagorinsky was presented with the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science that Smagorinsky's work resulted in saving millions of lives around the world in that severe weather predictions such as hurricanes could alert whole towns to be saved. He illustrated this point with the example of a town in England that would have been wiped out if it had not been for weather predictions. He reiterated the remark in his letter to GFDL following Smagorinsky's memorial service: “In terms of scientific inspiration and concrete benefits for the protection of human life and society, Joe Smagorinsky has left us a wonderful legacy for which European meteorologists honour and remember him.”
Smagorinsky, J., 1993: Some historical remarks on the use of non-linear viscosities - 1.1 Introductory remarks. In, Large Eddy Simulation of Complex Engineering and Geophysical Flows - Proceedings of an International Workshop in Large Eddy Simulation. Cambridge University Press; 1-34.
Smagorinsky, J., 1991: Development of international climate research. In, Strategies for Future Climate Research, Mojib Latif, ed., Hamburg: Max-Planck-Institute für Meteorologie; 9-18.
Smagorinsky, J., 1987: Louis Joseph Battan, 1923-1986 . Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 68(4), 370.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: The AMS's continuing role in promoting communications and setting standards. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 67(8), 938.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: GARP's objectives in weather prediction: Expectations and realizations. In, International Conference on Results of Global Weather Experiment and Their Implications for World Weather Watch, Vol. I, Geneva, Switzerland, 19-34.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: The long range eye of Jerry Namias. In, Namias Symposium - A special symposium in honor of the 75th birthday of Dr. Jerome Namias. Experimental Climate Forecast Center of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, CA: 63-69.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: Review of book: "Prophet--or Professor? The life and work of Lewis Fry Richardson," Oliver M. Ashford, and Adam Hilger. EOS, 67(3), 28.
Smagorinsky, J., 1985: Prospects of atmospheric modelling and its impacts on weather prediction. In, Medium Range Weather Forecasts: The First 10 years, Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary of EMCWF, 97-107.
Smagorinsky, J., 1984: Review of: "The Global Climate", J. T. Houghton, ed., Cambridge University Press. WMO Bulletin, 33, 361-362.
Smagorinsky, J., 1983: The beginnings of numerical weather prediction and general circulation modeling: Early recollections. Advances in Geophysics, 25, 3-37.
Smagorinsky, J., 1983: The Problem of Climate and Climate Variations, World Climate Programme Publication No. WCP-72, WMO. World Meteorological Organization, 14pp.
Smagorinsky, J., 1982: Jule Charney (1917–1981). Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 108(455), 267-269.
Smagorinsky, J., 1982: Scientific basis for the Monsoon Experiment. In, Proceedings of International Conference on the Scientific Results of the Monsoon Experiment, ICSU/WMO GARP. 35-42.
Smagorinsky, J., L. Armi, F. P. Bretherton, K. Bryan, R. D. Cess, W. L. Gates, J. Hansen, J. E. Kutzbach, and S. Manabe, et al., 1982: CO2 /Climate Review Panel. In, Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Second Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1-72.
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: CO2 and climate - a continuing story. In, Climatic Variations and Variability: Facts and Theories, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 661-687.
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: Epilogue: a perspective of dynamical meteorology. In, Dynamical Meteorology, New York: Methuen, Inc., 205-219
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: Scientific basis for the Monsoon Experiment. In, International Conference on the Scientific Results of the Monsoon Experiment, Oct. 26-30 1981 - Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: Some thoughts on contemporary global climatic variability. In, Nature Pleads Not Guilty, An IFIAS Report on the Project on Drought and Man, Vol. 1, R. V. Garcia. New York: Pergamon Press; 265-296.
Smagorinsky, J., 1980: Climate modelling. In, Proceedings of the Technical Conference on Climate - Asia and Western Pacific, WMO No., 578, World Meteorological Organization (WMO); 139-151.
Smagorinsky, J., 1978: History and progress. In, The Global Weather Experiment—Perspective on Its Implementation and Exploitation: A Report of the FGGE Advisory Panel to the U.S. Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) - National Academy of Science, 4-12.
Smagorinsky, J., and N. A. Phillips, 1978: Scientific problems of the Global Weather Experiment. In, The Global Weather Experiment, Perspectives on Its Implementation and Exploitation, Report of the FGGE Advisory Panel to the U.S. Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program, Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Research Council. National Academy of Science, 13-21.
Smagorinsky, J., 1972: The general circulation of the atmosphere. In, Meteorological Challenges: A History, Canada: Information Canada, 3-42.
Smagorinsky, J., 1971: Numerical simulation of climate modification. In, Proceedings of the 12th Interagency Conference on Climate Modification, Virginia Beach, VA, 221-226.
Manabe, S., J. Smagorinsky, J. L. Holloway, Jr., and H. M. Stone, 1970: Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle, III. Effects of increased horizontal computational resolution. Monthly Weather Review, 98(3), 175-212. .http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0493(1970)098%3C0175:SCOAGC%3E2.3.CO%3B2&ct=1
Smagorinsky, J., 1970: Numerical simulation of the global atmosphere. In, The Global Circulation of the Atmosphere, G. A. Corby, Editor, London, England: Royal Meteorological Society, 24-41.
Smagorinsky, J., 1969: Problems and data needs of global atmospheric models for the 1970s. In, First USCG National Data Buoy Systems Scientific Advisory Meeting, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 16-26.
Smagorinsky, J., 1969: Problems and promises of deterministic extended range forecasting. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 50(5), 286-311.
Manabe, S., and J. Smagorinsky, 1967: Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle II. Analysis of thetropical atmosphere. Monthly Weather Review, 95(4), 155-169.http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/095/mwr-095-04-0155.pdf
Smagorinsky, J., 1967: The role of numerical modeling. Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society, 48(2), 89-93.
Smagorinsky, J., 1966: Remarks on mathematical models. In, IBM Scientific Computing Symposium on the Environmental Sciences, Session 5 - Mathematical models, 241-244.
Manabe, S., J. Smagorinsky, and R. F. Strickler, 1965: Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle. Monthly Weather Review, 93(12), 769-798.http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/~gth/netscape/1965/sm6501.pdf
Smagorinsky, J., 1965: Numerical simulation of the atmosphere's general circulation. In, Large-scale Problems in Physics, IBM Scientific Computing Symposium, Yorktown Heights, NY: 141-144.
Smagorinsky, J., 1965: Remarks on data processing in meteorology. In, Proceedings of the WMO/IUGG Symposium on Meteorological Data Processing, Brussels, Belgium, WMO Technical Note 73, pp. 1–2.
Smagorinsky, J., 1965: Review of book: "An introduction to the hydrodynamic methods of short period forecasting", by I. A. Kibel. Mathematics of Computation, 19(89), 162-163.
Smagorinsky, J., S. Manabe, and J. L. Holloway, Jr., 1965: Numerical results from a nine-level general circulation model of the atmosphere. Monthly Weather Review, 93(12), 727-768. http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/~gth/netscape/1965/smag6501.pdf
Smagorinsky, J., R. F. Strickler, W. E. Sangster, S. Manabe, J. L. Holloway, and G. D. Hembree, 1965: Prediction experiments with a general circulation model. In, Proceedings of IAMAP/WMO International Symposium - Dynamics of Large-scale Processes, Moscow, Russia. 70-134.
Smagorinsky, J., 1964: Implications of dynamical modelling of the general circulation on long-range forecasting. In, WMO-IUGG Symposium on Research and Development Aspects of Long-range Forecasting, Boulder, CO., WMO Technical Note 62, 131-137.
Smagorinsky, J., 1964: Some aspects of the general circulation. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 90(383), 1-14.
Smagorinsky, J., 1963: General Circulation experiments with the primitive equations I. The basic experiment. Monthly Weather Review, 91(3), 99-164.
Smagorinsky, J., 1963: Remarks on geophysical fluid dynamics. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 44, 28-34.
Smagorinsky, J., 1962: Numerical weather analysis and prediction, by Phillip D. Thompson. Mathematics of Computation, 16(80), 503-505.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: General circulation experiments with the primitive equations as a function of the parameters. In, International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, XIIth General Assembly, Publication IAMAP No. 12/a, Helsinki, Finland, 22-23.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: On the application of numerical methods to the solution of systems of partial differential equations arising in meteorology. In, Frontiers of Numerical Mathematics, A Symposium Conducted by the Mathematics Research Center, United States Army and National Bureau of Standards. University of Wisconsin Press; 107-125.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: On the dynamical prediction of large-scale condensation by numerical methods. In, Physics of Precipitation, 5, AGU Monograph. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, 71-78.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: A primitive equation model including condensation processes. In, Proceedings of International Symposium on Numerical Weather Predictions, Japan Meteorological Society, 555.
Smagorinsky, J., 1958: On the numerical integration of the primitive equations of motion for baroclinic flow in a closed region. Monthly Weather Review, 86(12), 457-466.
Eliassen, A., J. S. Sawyer, and J. Smagorinsky, 1957: Upper air network requirements for numerical weather prediction. WMO Technical Note No. 29. Geneva, CH: WMO, 90 pp.
Smagorinsky, J., 1956: On the inclusion of moist adiabatic processes in numerical prediction models. In, Bericht des Deutschen Wetterdienstes, Nr. 38, 82-90.
Smagorinsky, J., 1955: A synopsis of research on quasi-stationary perturbations of the mean zonal circulation caused by topography and heating. In, Dynamics of Climate: The Proceedings of a Conference on the Application of Numerical Integration Techniques to the Problem of the General Circulation held October 26–28, 1955. New York, NY: Pergamon Press, 44-49.
Smagorinsky, J., 1955: On the numerical prediction of precipitation. Monthly Weather Review, 83(3), 53-68.
Smagorinsky, J., 1953: Data Processing requirements for the purposes of numerical weather prediction. In, Proceedings of the Eastern Joint Computer Conference, Washington, DC, 22-30.
Smagorinsky, J., 1953: The dynamical influence of large-scale heat sources and sinks on the quasi-stationary mean motions of the atmosphere. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 79, 342-366.
At the memorial gathering at Princeton University
in October, 2005, following Smagorinsky's September death, he was honored with the following story of his life, sung to the tune of Ervin Drake's "It Was a Very Good Year
":
When I was seventeen, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for Stuyvesant High
My future was nigh
Working in Dad’s paint store
But I wanted more
When I was seventeen.
When I was twenty-four, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for matrimony
I wed my Maggie
We lasted 57 years
We had five little dears
When I was twenty-four.
When I was twenty-seven, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for babies in pink
And diapers that stink
I didn’t mind at all
'Cause Margaret changed them all
When I was twenty-seven.
When I was twenty-nine, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for Washington, D.C.
A lab director I’d be
Our computers were fast
And our impact was vast
When I was thirty-one.
When I was thirty-eight, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for the General Circulation Model
It was lightning in a bottle
It took two whole chalkboards
It predicted weather in fjords
When I was thirty-eight.
When I was forty-four, it was a very good year
It was a very good year, to Princeton we moved
My colleagues were behooved
To join GFDL
I think it went pretty well
When I was forty-four.
When I was fifty-nine, it was a very good year
It was a very good year to retire from the lab
My pension I'd nab
I led the AMS
And finally got some rest
When I was fifty-nine.
When I was sixty-eight, it was a very good year
It was a very good year to be a granddad
'Twas 8 that we had
They all knew me as Gramps
I paid for a few summer camps
When I was sixty-eight.
And now my days are done, it’s been a very good life
It’s been a very good life because of my wife
With love she was rife
She gave me a family
They write songs hammily
It’s been a very good life.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...
.
Early life
Joseph Smagorinsky was born to Nathan Smagorinsky and Dina Azaroff. His parents were from Gomel, BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, which they fled during the life-threatening pogroms of the early 20th Century. Nathan and Dina bore three sons in Gomel: Jacob (who died as an infant), Samuel (b. 1903), and David (b. 1907). In 1913, Nathan emigrated from the coast of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, passing through Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
and settling on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Nathan at first was a house painter. Then, with the help of a relative, he opened a paint store. In 1916, with the business established, Dina, Sam, and David emigrated by going to Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
(Archangel) and then southward along the Norwegian coast to Christiana (now Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
) and boarding a boat to New York where they joined Nathan. They had two other children: Hillel (Harry) (b. 1919) and Joseph (b. 1924). Like his three brothers, Joseph worked in their father's paint store, which over the years evolved into a hardware and paint store. Sam and Harry stayed in the painting and hardware business, with Harry eventually taking ownership of the original store. As a teenager, David began painting signs for shop owners and subsequently opened a sign painting business. Joseph attended Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
for Math and Science in Manhattan. When he expressed an interest in going to college, the family had a meeting in which they discussed the possibility. Sam and David prevailed in their view that Joseph had great promise and deserved the opportunity to go to college.
Education and early career
Joseph, aided by the G. I. Bill, went on to earn his BS (1947), MS (1948), and PhD (1953) at New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. In the middle of his sophomore year at NYU, he entered the air force and joined an elite group of cadet recruits, chosen for their talents in mathematics and
physics. Those talents led Smagorinsky to be selected for the air force meteorology program. He and other recruits were then sent to Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
to study mathematics and physics for six months. He was then sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
to learn dynamical meteorology. His instructor was Ed Lorenz, who later pioneered the mathematical theory of deterministic chaos. During the war Smagorinsky flew in the nose of bombers as a weather observer, making weather forecasts based on visible factors such as the estimated size of waves, and the observed air temperature and wind velocity at the plane’s altitude.
Following the war, Smagorinsky concluded his studies. He originally aspired to be a naval architect, but was not admitted to the Webb Institute
Webb Institute
The Webb Institute is a specialized private college in Glen Cove, New York that has only one program, which is undergraduate. Each graduate of Webb Institute earns a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.- History :...
. He then turned to meteorology
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...
as a career and educational focus. As a doctoral student, while serving the remainder of his army commitment, he attended a lecture on weather forecasting conducted by Jule Charney, and asked a series of pointed questions during the question-and-answer session following the talk. Charney, a prominent atmospheric scientist, invited Smagorinsky to the Princeton, NJ Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
to examine the possible predictability of large-scale motions in the middle troposphere
Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 80% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols....
(the lower part of the atmosphere) using the new electronic computer being designed by John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
. In April 1950, Smagorinsky participated in a major milestone of modern meteorology; together with Ragnar Fjortoft, John Freeman and George Platzman, he worked with Charney to solve Charney’s simplest equations on the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC
ENIAC
ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
). Von Neumann’s new Princeton computer had been delayed so arrangements were made with the Army to use its computer at Aberdeen, Maryland. The results were realistic enough to demonstrate that weather prediction by numerical process was a promising prospect. After the ENIAC work, Smagorinsky moved to the Institute for Advanced Study to work with Charney and von Neumann on the development of a radical new approach to weather forecasting that employed the new technology of the computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
.
Before the advent of computers in the late 1940s, weather forecasting
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
was very crude. George Platzman 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...
felt that “academic meteorology in this country is still suffering from the trade-school blues.” The American Meteorological Society
American Meteorological Society
The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
and its leaders, most of whom taught in universities, still aspired to turn meteorology into a professional discipline given the same respect accorded engineering and the physical sciences. An exceptional mathematician, von Neumann was among the first to see the potential afforded by computers for much faster processing of data and thus more responsive weather forecasting. He was not satisfied with mathematics as an abstract practice. Weather forecasting provided him with a very concrete application of mathematical principles that could exploit the new computer technology. At the Institute for Advanced Study, he used his mathematical knowledge and Smagorinsky worked with Charney to develop a new approach called numerical weather prediction
Numerical weather prediction
Numerical weather prediction uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of computer simulation in the 1950s that numerical weather predictions produced realistic...
. This approach relied on data collected from weather balloons. The data were then fed into computers and subjected to the laws of physics, enabling forecasts of how turbulence, water, heat, and other factors interacted to produce weather patterns. (Smagorinsky endeared himself to his children by visiting their elementary school classrooms to demonstrate how weather balloons worked.)
In his doctoral dissertation, conducted at NYU under the direction of Bernhard Haurwitz, Smagorinsky developed a new theory for how heat sources and sinks in midlatitudes, created by the thermal contrast between land and oceans, disturbed the path of the jet stream. This theory provided one of the first applications of Jule Charney's remarkable simplification of the equations of motion for the atmosphere, now known as quasi-gesotrophic theory. This work benefited greatly from interactions with Charney at the Institute for Advanced Study. This theory has been elaborated over the years to provide numerous insights into the maintenance of the climate in midlatitudes and the interaction between the tropics and midlatitudes.
Leadership of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Following his apprenticeship and work with von Neumann and Charney, in 1953, at age 29, Smagorinsky accepted a position at the U.S. Weather Bureau and was among the pioneers of the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit. In 1955, at von Neumann's instigation, the U.S. Weather Bureau created a General Circulation Research Section under Smagorinsky's direction. Smagorinsky felt that his charge was to continue with the final step of the von Neumann/Charney computer modeling program: a three-dimensional, global, primitive-equation general circulation model of the atmosphere. The General Circulation Research Section was initially located in Suitland, Maryland, near the Weather Bureau's JNWP unit. The section moved to Washington, D.C. and was renamed the General Circulation Research Laboratory in 1959 and then renamed again as the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics LaboratoryGeophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...
in 1963. The lab moved to its current home at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1968. Smagorinsky continued to direct the lab until his retirement in January, 1983.
Smagorinsky's key insight was that the increasing power of computers would allow one to move beyond simulating the evolution of the atmosphere for a few days, as in weather prediction, and move toward the simulation of the Earth's climate. The intention of such simulations is not to predict the detailed evolution of the weather, but by integrating the equations of motion, thermodynamics, and radiative transfer for long enough time periods to simulate the statistics of the weather—the climate—enabling one to study how these statistics were controlled by the atmospheric composition, the character of the Earth's surface, and the circulation of the oceans.
Among Dr. Smagorinsky’s many talents was attracting creative scientists to the staff of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Two of them were climate modeler Syukuro Manabe
Syukuro Manabe
is a Japanese meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations.-Scientific accomplishments:...
in 1959 and ocean modeler Kirk Bryan
Kirk Bryan (oceanographer)
Kirk Bryan is an American oceanographer who is considered to be the founder of numerical ocean modeling. Starting in the 1960s at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, then located in Washington, D.C., Bryan worked with a series of colleagues to develop numerical schemes for solving the...
in 1961, who spearheaded the development of the first climate model in 1969, a general circulation model that was the first approach to take into account the interactions of oceans and atmosphere. Smagorinsky assigned Manabe to the General Circulation Model coding and development effort. By 1963, Smagorinsky, Manabe, and their collaborators had completed a nine-level, hemispheric primitive-equation General Circulation Model. Manabe was given a large programming staff and was thus able to focus on mathematical structure of the models, without becoming overly involved in coding. In 1955-56, Smagorinsky collaborated with John von Neumann, Jule Charney, and Norman Phillips to develop a 2-level, zonal hemispheric model using a subset of the primitive equations. Beginning in 1959, he proceeded to develop a nine-level primitive-equation General Circulation Model (still hemispheric). By the end of the next decade, general circulation models emerged globally as a central tool in climate research. Other researchers who worked with Smagorinsky in Washington and Princeton included Isidoro Orlanski, Jerry Mahlman
Jerry Mahlman
-Biography:Mahlman received his undergraduate degree from Chadron State College in 1962 and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University in 1967. From 1970 until 2000 he worked at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Princeton, serving as...
, Syukuro Manabe
Syukuro Manabe
is a Japanese meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations.-Scientific accomplishments:...
, Yoshio Kurihara, Kikuro Miyakoda, Rod Graham, Leith Holloway, Isaac Held, Garreth Williams, George Philander, and Douglas Lilly.
Development of this first climate model was based on Smagorinsky’s belief that individual inquiry would be inadequate for addressing such a complex problem. He realized that it would take large-scale numerical modeling with teams of scientists using commonly shared high-speed computers to achieve such a breakthrough. As stated in a 1992 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
American Meteorological Society
The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
, “Dr. Smagorinsky’s almost relentless pursuit of excellence at Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...
set a standard for other laboratories and centers that have contributed immensely to the growth of meteorology as a science” throughout the world. Michael MacCracken, President of International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, wrote following Smagorinsky's death that “From its earliest days, GFDL has been world renowned, with an outstanding set of scientists doing outstanding work that attracted scientists from around the world to come to learn and collaborate – and then return to their home countries or other institutions as outstanding scientists. Not only a whole new scientific field of investigation, but a community of scientists capable of doing it well has been created.”
Smagorinsky invited many scientists from outside the normal circle to provide the broadest perspective on weather forecasts. Very early in his career, he brought pioneering oceanographer Kirk Bryan to GFDL to account for oceanic influences on the weather; and shortly following World War II, with the nation still leery of Japan, he invited Suki Manabe, Yoshio Kurihara, and Kikuro Miyakoda to GFDL, valuing their scientific expertise and potential and ignoring the xenophobia that might have discouraged such international collaboration. He continued this practice of inviting scientists to GFDL who could take on the project of producing a comprehensive theory of atmospheric processes, valuing talent and creativity over what he regarded as irrelevant factors such as field or nationality. Jerry Mahlman, who succeeded Smagorinsky as director of GFDL at Princeton, writes that Smagorinsky "had no real interest in the 'university scientific culture' that still has a tendency to count scientific publications, rather than scientific achievements, as its measure of faculty success. Joe would have none of that. He wanted junior scientists such as us to focus on solving difficult scientific challenges of major relevance to NOAA, the United States, and the world. . . . Without Joe’s support and encouragement, would Manabe have written the first paper on the science of global warming in 1967? Would Bryan have produced the world’s first ocean model in 1970? Would Manabe and Bryan have produced the world’s first coupled atmosphere–ocean model in 1972? Would I have produced the first comprehensive stratospheric dynamical/chemical model? Would Miyakoda have pioneered extended-range weather forecasting? For my research, the answer is: almost certainly not. Without the level of scientific and computational support provided by Joe, these achievements would have required at least another decade of development to achieve success."
Smagorinsky was among the earliest researchers who sought to exploit new methods of numerical weather prediction
Numerical weather prediction
Numerical weather prediction uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of computer simulation in the 1950s that numerical weather predictions produced realistic...
to extend forecasting past one or two days. Smagorinsky published a seminal paper in 1963 on his research using primitive equations of atmospheric dynamics to simulate the atmosphere’s circulation. This paper fundamentally changed the approach to modeling climate. He extended early weather models to include variables such as wind, cloud cover, precipitation, atmospheric pressure and radiation emanating from the earth and sun. In order to make these simulations possible, a method was needed to account for atmospheric turbulence that occurred on scales smaller than the model's grid size but still played a crucial role in the atmospheric energy cycle. With colleagues Douglas Lilly and James Deardorff, both at the National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Center for Atmospheric Research
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has multiple facilities, including the I. M. Pei-designed Mesa Laboratory headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR is managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and sponsored by the National Science Foundation...
, he developed one of the first successful approaches to large eddy simulation
Large eddy simulation
Large eddy simulation is a mathematical model for turbulence used in computational fluid dynamics. It was initially proposed in 1963 by Joseph Smagorinsky to simulate atmospheric air currents, and many of the issues unique to LES were first explored by Deardorff...
(e.g., the Smagorinsky-Lilly model), providing a solution to this problem that is still in use, not only in meteorology, but in all fields involving fluid dynamics.
Smagorinsky earned fame for his ability to secure the world's fastest computers for his laboratory time and time again. At the memorial gathering at Princeton University following Smagorinsky's death, Suki Manabe playfully suggested that Joe always attended meetings with government officials with a resignation letter in hand, ready to present it if his needs weren't met. However he achieved his goals, he did so with remarkable consistency, much to the amazement of those who wondered how a single government scientist had such leverage in the highly competitive battle for limited resources. Jerry Mahlman wrote that “Without the level of scientific and computational support provided by Joe, these achievements [global warming, increasingly sophisticated computer models, extended weather forecasting] would have required at least another decade of development to achieve.” This remark that Smagorinsky had advanced his field by at least a decade was echoed by several speakers at his memorial.
Influence on global warming research
In the 1970s, under the direction of Dr. Smagorinsky, scientists at his laboratory devised the first simulations of the response of climate to increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, providing the first modern estimates of climate sensitivity and emphasizing the importance of water vapor feedback and stratospheric cooling. Scientists at the laboratory also developed the first coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models for studies of global warming, emphasizing the important differences between the "equilibrium" and "transient" responses to increasing carbon dioxide.International leadership and global impact
Joseph Smagorinsky's influence and administrative abilities extended well beyond his work at GFDL. He led or contributed to international committees to improve global weather forecasts. Coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization, the efforts led to the first use of satellites to measure temperature and moisture. Tony Hollingsworth of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by 19 European Member States and 15 Co-operating States...
made the point in his remarks at the Princeton lecture after Smagorinsky was presented with the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science that Smagorinsky's work resulted in saving millions of lives around the world in that severe weather predictions such as hurricanes could alert whole towns to be saved. He illustrated this point with the example of a town in England that would have been wiped out if it had not been for weather predictions. He reiterated the remark in his letter to GFDL following Smagorinsky's memorial service: “In terms of scientific inspiration and concrete benefits for the protection of human life and society, Joe Smagorinsky has left us a wonderful legacy for which European meteorologists honour and remember him.”
Academic career
The year GFDL moved to Princeton, Smagorinsky was named a visiting lecturer with the rank of professor in geological and geophysical sciences at the University. He helped develop the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, a doctoral program in the Department of Geosciences that collaborates closely with the GFDL. Following his retirement as director of the GFDL in 1983, he served as a visiting senior fellow in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at Princeton until 1998. "Dr. Smagorinsky, a major player in the move of the GFDL to Princeton more than 30 years ago, in effect provided Princeton University with a graduate program," said George Philander, a professor of geosciences and director of the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. "It is because of that program, the official link between the GFDL and Princeton University, that Princeton is an internationally recognized center for weather and climate studies, especially studies related to global warming."Awards and leadership roles
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recognition as one of the ten most significant figures in NOAA’s history, and identification of his general circulation climate model as one of the three most important breakthroughs in meteorology in the last two centuries.
- Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science from the Franklin InstituteFranklin InstituteThe Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
in Philadelphia in 2003, presented to Smagorinsky and his close friend and colleague Norman Phillips for "their seminal and pioneering studies" that led to "an understanding of the general circulation of the atmosphere, including transports of heat and moisture that determine the earth's climate." - Chair, Global Atmospheric Research Program, coordinated by the World Meteorological OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
and the International Council of Scientific Unions - Buys Ballot Gold Medal 1974 (awarded once each decade by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesThe Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands...
for outstanding advances in the field of meteorology) - International Meteorological Organization prize and Gold medal, the highest honor accorded by the World Meteorological OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
1974 - The Clarence Leroy Meisinger Award, given to an individual in recognition of research achievement that is, at least in part, aerological in character and concerns the observation, theory, and modeling of atmospheric motions on all scales. The award is given to young, promising atmospheric scientists who have recently shown outstanding ability and are under 40 years of age when nominated. 1967
- Carl-Gustaf RossbyCarl-Gustaf RossbyCarl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby was a Swedish-U.S. meteorologist who first explained the large-scale motions of the atmosphere in terms of fluid mechanics....
Research Gold medal, presented to individuals on the basis of outstanding contributions to the understanding of the structure or behavior of the atmosphere. It represents the highest honor that the American Meteorological Society can bestow upon an atmospheric scientist. 1972 - The Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to Atmospheric Sciences by an Individual, presented on the basis of activities that have materially contributed to the progress of the atmospheric sciences or to the application of atmospheric sciences to general, social, economic, or humanitarian welfare. 1980
- Presidential award 1980
- Symons memorial gold medal, Royal Meteorological SocietyRoyal Meteorological SocietyThe Royal Meteorological Society traces its origins back to 3 April 1850 when the British Meteorological Society was formed as a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general...
, 1981 - The Scientific Research Society national lecturer from 1983 to 1985
- President, American Meteorological SocietyAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
1986 - International Meteorological Organization Prize from the World Meteorological OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
in 1988 - Honorary doctorate, University of Munich
- Gold medal, U. S. Department of Commerce
- Sigma Xi Society
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
- Member of the Presidential Scientific Advisory Committee Panel on Pollution
- Member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Atmospheric Science
Key Publications
Smagorinsky, J., 1995: The growth of dynamic meteorology and numerical weather prediction - some personal reflections. In, Canadian Meteorological Memoirs No. 32: Special Symposium on Atmospheric Research in Canada in Honor of Dr. Warren L. Godson's Fifty Years of Public Service,Venkata R. Neralla..[et al.,] eds., 48-56.Smagorinsky, J., 1993: Some historical remarks on the use of non-linear viscosities - 1.1 Introductory remarks. In, Large Eddy Simulation of Complex Engineering and Geophysical Flows - Proceedings of an International Workshop in Large Eddy Simulation. Cambridge University Press; 1-34.
Smagorinsky, J., 1991: Development of international climate research. In, Strategies for Future Climate Research, Mojib Latif, ed., Hamburg: Max-Planck-Institute für Meteorologie; 9-18.
Smagorinsky, J., 1987: Louis Joseph Battan, 1923-1986 . Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 68(4), 370.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: The AMS's continuing role in promoting communications and setting standards. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 67(8), 938.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: GARP's objectives in weather prediction: Expectations and realizations. In, International Conference on Results of Global Weather Experiment and Their Implications for World Weather Watch, Vol. I, Geneva, Switzerland, 19-34.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: The long range eye of Jerry Namias. In, Namias Symposium - A special symposium in honor of the 75th birthday of Dr. Jerome Namias. Experimental Climate Forecast Center of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, CA: 63-69.
Smagorinsky, J., 1986: Review of book: "Prophet--or Professor? The life and work of Lewis Fry Richardson," Oliver M. Ashford, and Adam Hilger. EOS, 67(3), 28.
Smagorinsky, J., 1985: Prospects of atmospheric modelling and its impacts on weather prediction. In, Medium Range Weather Forecasts: The First 10 years, Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary of EMCWF, 97-107.
Smagorinsky, J., 1984: Review of: "The Global Climate", J. T. Houghton, ed., Cambridge University Press. WMO Bulletin, 33, 361-362.
Smagorinsky, J., 1983: The beginnings of numerical weather prediction and general circulation modeling: Early recollections. Advances in Geophysics, 25, 3-37.
Smagorinsky, J., 1983: The Problem of Climate and Climate Variations, World Climate Programme Publication No. WCP-72, WMO. World Meteorological Organization, 14pp.
Smagorinsky, J., 1982: Jule Charney (1917–1981). Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 108(455), 267-269.
Smagorinsky, J., 1982: Scientific basis for the Monsoon Experiment. In, Proceedings of International Conference on the Scientific Results of the Monsoon Experiment, ICSU/WMO GARP. 35-42.
Smagorinsky, J., L. Armi, F. P. Bretherton, K. Bryan, R. D. Cess, W. L. Gates, J. Hansen, J. E. Kutzbach, and S. Manabe, et al., 1982: CO2 /Climate Review Panel. In, Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Second Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1-72.
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: CO2 and climate - a continuing story. In, Climatic Variations and Variability: Facts and Theories, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 661-687.
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: Epilogue: a perspective of dynamical meteorology. In, Dynamical Meteorology, New York: Methuen, Inc., 205-219
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: Scientific basis for the Monsoon Experiment. In, International Conference on the Scientific Results of the Monsoon Experiment, Oct. 26-30 1981 - Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Smagorinsky, J., 1981: Some thoughts on contemporary global climatic variability. In, Nature Pleads Not Guilty, An IFIAS Report on the Project on Drought and Man, Vol. 1, R. V. Garcia. New York: Pergamon Press; 265-296.
Smagorinsky, J., 1980: Climate modelling. In, Proceedings of the Technical Conference on Climate - Asia and Western Pacific, WMO No., 578, World Meteorological Organization (WMO); 139-151.
Smagorinsky, J., 1978: History and progress. In, The Global Weather Experiment—Perspective on Its Implementation and Exploitation: A Report of the FGGE Advisory Panel to the U.S. Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) - National Academy of Science, 4-12.
Smagorinsky, J., and N. A. Phillips, 1978: Scientific problems of the Global Weather Experiment. In, The Global Weather Experiment, Perspectives on Its Implementation and Exploitation, Report of the FGGE Advisory Panel to the U.S. Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program, Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Research Council. National Academy of Science, 13-21.
Smagorinsky, J., 1972: The general circulation of the atmosphere. In, Meteorological Challenges: A History, Canada: Information Canada, 3-42.
Smagorinsky, J., 1971: Numerical simulation of climate modification. In, Proceedings of the 12th Interagency Conference on Climate Modification, Virginia Beach, VA, 221-226.
Manabe, S., J. Smagorinsky, J. L. Holloway, Jr., and H. M. Stone, 1970: Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle, III. Effects of increased horizontal computational resolution. Monthly Weather Review, 98(3), 175-212. .http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0493(1970)098%3C0175:SCOAGC%3E2.3.CO%3B2&ct=1
Smagorinsky, J., 1970: Numerical simulation of the global atmosphere. In, The Global Circulation of the Atmosphere, G. A. Corby, Editor, London, England: Royal Meteorological Society, 24-41.
Smagorinsky, J., 1969: Problems and data needs of global atmospheric models for the 1970s. In, First USCG National Data Buoy Systems Scientific Advisory Meeting, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 16-26.
Smagorinsky, J., 1969: Problems and promises of deterministic extended range forecasting. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 50(5), 286-311.
Manabe, S., and J. Smagorinsky, 1967: Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle II. Analysis of thetropical atmosphere. Monthly Weather Review, 95(4), 155-169.http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/095/mwr-095-04-0155.pdf
Smagorinsky, J., 1967: The role of numerical modeling. Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society, 48(2), 89-93.
Smagorinsky, J., 1966: Remarks on mathematical models. In, IBM Scientific Computing Symposium on the Environmental Sciences, Session 5 - Mathematical models, 241-244.
Manabe, S., J. Smagorinsky, and R. F. Strickler, 1965: Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle. Monthly Weather Review, 93(12), 769-798.http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/~gth/netscape/1965/sm6501.pdf
Smagorinsky, J., 1965: Numerical simulation of the atmosphere's general circulation. In, Large-scale Problems in Physics, IBM Scientific Computing Symposium, Yorktown Heights, NY: 141-144.
Smagorinsky, J., 1965: Remarks on data processing in meteorology. In, Proceedings of the WMO/IUGG Symposium on Meteorological Data Processing, Brussels, Belgium, WMO Technical Note 73, pp. 1–2.
Smagorinsky, J., 1965: Review of book: "An introduction to the hydrodynamic methods of short period forecasting", by I. A. Kibel. Mathematics of Computation, 19(89), 162-163.
Smagorinsky, J., S. Manabe, and J. L. Holloway, Jr., 1965: Numerical results from a nine-level general circulation model of the atmosphere. Monthly Weather Review, 93(12), 727-768. http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/~gth/netscape/1965/smag6501.pdf
Smagorinsky, J., R. F. Strickler, W. E. Sangster, S. Manabe, J. L. Holloway, and G. D. Hembree, 1965: Prediction experiments with a general circulation model. In, Proceedings of IAMAP/WMO International Symposium - Dynamics of Large-scale Processes, Moscow, Russia. 70-134.
Smagorinsky, J., 1964: Implications of dynamical modelling of the general circulation on long-range forecasting. In, WMO-IUGG Symposium on Research and Development Aspects of Long-range Forecasting, Boulder, CO., WMO Technical Note 62, 131-137.
Smagorinsky, J., 1964: Some aspects of the general circulation. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 90(383), 1-14.
Smagorinsky, J., 1963: General Circulation experiments with the primitive equations I. The basic experiment. Monthly Weather Review, 91(3), 99-164.
Smagorinsky, J., 1963: Remarks on geophysical fluid dynamics. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 44, 28-34.
Smagorinsky, J., 1962: Numerical weather analysis and prediction, by Phillip D. Thompson. Mathematics of Computation, 16(80), 503-505.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: General circulation experiments with the primitive equations as a function of the parameters. In, International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, XIIth General Assembly, Publication IAMAP No. 12/a, Helsinki, Finland, 22-23.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: On the application of numerical methods to the solution of systems of partial differential equations arising in meteorology. In, Frontiers of Numerical Mathematics, A Symposium Conducted by the Mathematics Research Center, United States Army and National Bureau of Standards. University of Wisconsin Press; 107-125.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: On the dynamical prediction of large-scale condensation by numerical methods. In, Physics of Precipitation, 5, AGU Monograph. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, 71-78.
Smagorinsky, J., 1960: A primitive equation model including condensation processes. In, Proceedings of International Symposium on Numerical Weather Predictions, Japan Meteorological Society, 555.
Smagorinsky, J., 1958: On the numerical integration of the primitive equations of motion for baroclinic flow in a closed region. Monthly Weather Review, 86(12), 457-466.
Eliassen, A., J. S. Sawyer, and J. Smagorinsky, 1957: Upper air network requirements for numerical weather prediction. WMO Technical Note No. 29. Geneva, CH: WMO, 90 pp.
Smagorinsky, J., 1956: On the inclusion of moist adiabatic processes in numerical prediction models. In, Bericht des Deutschen Wetterdienstes, Nr. 38, 82-90.
Smagorinsky, J., 1955: A synopsis of research on quasi-stationary perturbations of the mean zonal circulation caused by topography and heating. In, Dynamics of Climate: The Proceedings of a Conference on the Application of Numerical Integration Techniques to the Problem of the General Circulation held October 26–28, 1955. New York, NY: Pergamon Press, 44-49.
Smagorinsky, J., 1955: On the numerical prediction of precipitation. Monthly Weather Review, 83(3), 53-68.
Smagorinsky, J., 1953: Data Processing requirements for the purposes of numerical weather prediction. In, Proceedings of the Eastern Joint Computer Conference, Washington, DC, 22-30.
Smagorinsky, J., 1953: The dynamical influence of large-scale heat sources and sinks on the quasi-stationary mean motions of the atmosphere. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 79, 342-366.
Family life
Smagorinsky was married to Margaret Frances Elizabeth Knoepfel from May 29, 1948 to his death at age 81 on September 21, 2005. They met while taking classes at New York University, where Margaret was preparing for a career as a meteorological statistician. Margaret soon became the Weather Bureau’s first female statistician. The couple had two wedding ceremonies. One was a Catholic ceremony at Margaret's mother's insistence; the other was a civil ceremony in the Georgetown garden of Judge Fay Bently. (Judge Bently was later removed from the bench, declared incompetent, and confined to a mental hospital.) This ceremony was attended only by the required 2 witnesses, Jerry Moss and Margaret's sister Alice Williams. Joseph and Margaret considered this smaller gathering to be their official wedding, given the ways in which his Jewish family and her Catholic family opposed the union. Following their marriage, Margaret chose to stay at home and raise their five children, Anne, Peter, Teresa, Julia, and Frederick. Margaret wrote several pamphlets featuring traditions at Princeton University, including:- The Regalia of Princeton University
- Some Legends & Lore of Princeton University
- The Tigers of Princeton University
At the memorial gathering at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in October, 2005, following Smagorinsky's September death, he was honored with the following story of his life, sung to the tune of Ervin Drake's "It Was a Very Good Year
It Was a Very Good Year
"It Was a Very Good Year" is a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 for and originally recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio and subsequently made famous by Frank Sinatra's version in D-minor, which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1966. Gordon Jenkins was awarded...
":
When I was seventeen, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for Stuyvesant High
My future was nigh
Working in Dad’s paint store
But I wanted more
When I was seventeen.
When I was twenty-four, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for matrimony
I wed my Maggie
We lasted 57 years
We had five little dears
When I was twenty-four.
When I was twenty-seven, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for babies in pink
And diapers that stink
I didn’t mind at all
'Cause Margaret changed them all
When I was twenty-seven.
When I was twenty-nine, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for Washington, D.C.
A lab director I’d be
Our computers were fast
And our impact was vast
When I was thirty-one.
When I was thirty-eight, it was a very good year
It was a very good year for the General Circulation Model
It was lightning in a bottle
It took two whole chalkboards
It predicted weather in fjords
When I was thirty-eight.
When I was forty-four, it was a very good year
It was a very good year, to Princeton we moved
My colleagues were behooved
To join GFDL
I think it went pretty well
When I was forty-four.
When I was fifty-nine, it was a very good year
It was a very good year to retire from the lab
My pension I'd nab
I led the AMS
And finally got some rest
When I was fifty-nine.
When I was sixty-eight, it was a very good year
It was a very good year to be a granddad
'Twas 8 that we had
They all knew me as Gramps
I paid for a few summer camps
When I was sixty-eight.
And now my days are done, it’s been a very good life
It’s been a very good life because of my wife
With love she was rife
She gave me a family
They write songs hammily
It’s been a very good life.
External links
- Joseph Smagorinsky: Visionary in Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Modeling. Web pages recognizing Smagorinsky as one of NOAA's Top Ten History Makers
- Pioneering meteorologist Smagorinsky dies Princeton University obituary
- Weather By Numbers Mr. Wizard Studios feature on numerical weather prediction, highlighting Smagorinsky's work.
- American Institute of Physics 1986 interview 1986 interview with Smagorinsky on the status of the field.
- Oral History Transcript — Dr. Joseph Smagorinsky
- http://www.wmo.int/pages/publications/bulletin_en/interviews/int_Smagorinsky_en.html Interview With Professor J. Smagorinsky