Syun-Ichi Akasofu
Encyclopedia
is the Founding Director of the International Arctic Research Center
International Arctic Research Center
The International Arctic Research Center, or IARC, established in 1999, is a research institution focused on integrating and coordinating study of climate change in the Arctic. The primary partners in IARC are Japan and the United States...

 of the University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....

 (UAF), serving in that position from the center's establishment in 1998 until January 2007. Previously he had been director of the university's Geophysical Institute
Geophysical Institute
The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducts research into space physics and aeronomy; atmospheric sciences; snow, ice, and permafrost; seismology; volcanology; and tectonics and sedimentation. It was founded in 1946 by the United States Congress...

 from 1986.

Background

Akasofu earned a B.S. and a M.S. in geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...

 at Tohoku University
Tohoku University
, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and is a member of the National Seven Universities...

, Sendai, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, in 1953 and 1957. respectively. He earned a Ph.D in geophysics at UAF
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....

 in 1961. Within the framework of his Ph.D. thesis he studied the aurora
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...

. His scientific adviser was Sydney Chapman. Akasofu has been a professor of geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...

 at UAF
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....

 since 1964.

Akasofu was director of the Geophysical Institute
Geophysical Institute
The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducts research into space physics and aeronomy; atmospheric sciences; snow, ice, and permafrost; seismology; volcanology; and tectonics and sedimentation. It was founded in 1946 by the United States Congress...

 from 1986 until 1999, during which time the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys...

 was established and Poker Flat Research Range
Poker Flat Research Range
The Poker Flat Research Range is a launch facility and rocket range for sounding rockets in the U.S. state of Alaska, owned and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute since 1968...

 was modernized. He went on to become the first director of the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) upon its establishment in 1998, and remained in that position until 2007. The same year, the building which houses IARC was named in his honor.

Akasofu has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research (1972–74) and the Journal of Geomagnetism & Geoelectricity (1972–present), respectively. Furthermore, he has served as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Planetary Space Science (1969–present), the Editorial Advisory Board of Space Science Reviews (1967–77), and the Editorial Committee of Space Science Reviews (1977–present).

Climate change

Akasofu is one of the 700+ scientists listed in a report issued by the Republican minority of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for dealing with matters related to the environment and infrastructure.-Members, 112th Congress:...

 entitled More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims Scientists Continue to Debunk “Consensus” in 2008 & 2009 who are said to dispute the theory of anthropogenic global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

.
  • On the Fundamental Defect in the IPCC’s Approach to Global Warming Research by Syun-Ichi Akasofu, Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr. Research Group Weblog, June 15, 2007
  • Two Natural Components of the Recent Climate Change: (1) The Recovery from the Little Ice Age (A Possible Cause of Global Warming) and (2) The Multi-decadal Oscillation (The Recent Halting of the Warming) This 50MB paper in pdf format presented by Dr Syun Akasofu at the 2009 International Conference on Climate Change, New York, March 2009 is summarized at http://joannenova.com.au/2009/04/03/global-warming-a-classic-case-of-alarmism/

Selected publications

He is an ISI highly cited researcher
ISI highly cited researcher
ISI Highly Cited is a database of "highly cited researchers"—scientific researchers whose publications are most often cited in academic journals over the past decade, published by the Institute for Scientific Information...

.
  • Akasofu, S.-I., Polar and Magnetospheric Substorms, D. Reidel
    D. Reidel
    D. Reidel was an academic publishing company based in Dordrecht. It joined with Kluwer in the 1990s as Kluwer/Reidel, together being purchased by Cinven and Candover in 2003. Cinven and Candover also purchased Springer, merging the operations of all the publishers into one conglomerate, Springer...

     Pub. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, 1968, (also a Russian edition).
  • Akasofu, S.-I., B. Fogle, and B. Haurwitz, Sydney Chapman, Eighty, published by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Publishing Service of the University of Colorado, 1968.
  • Akasofu, S.-I. and S. Chapman, Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, 1972, (also a Russian and Chinese edition).
  • Akasofu, S.-I., The Aurora: A Discharge Phenomenon Surrounding the Earth, (in Japanese), Chuo-koran- sha, Tokyo, Japan.
  • Akasofu, S.-I., Physics of Magnetospheric Substorms, D. Reidel, Pub. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, 1977.
  • Akasofu, S.-I., Aurora Borealis: The Amazing Northern Lights, Alaska Geographic Society, Alaska Northwest Pub. Co., 6, 2, 1979, (also a Japanese edition).
  • Akasofu, S.-I. (ed.), Dynamics of the Magnetosphere, D. Reidel Pub. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, 1979.
  • Akasofu, S.-I. and J.R. Kan (eds.), Physics of Auroral Arc Formation, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D.C., 1981.
  • Akasofu, S.-I. and Y. Kamide (eds.), The Solar Wind and the Earth, Geophys. Astrophys. Monographs, Terra Scientific Pub. Co., Tokyo, Japan, and D. Reidel Pub. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, 1987.
  • Akasofu, S.-I., Secrets of the Aurora Borealis, Alaska Geographic Society, Banta Publications Group/Hart Press, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2002.
  • Akasofu, S.-I. Exploring the Secrets of the Aurora, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, 2002.

Awards and honors

  • 1976 - Chapman Medal
    Chapman Medal
    The Chapman Medal is a medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, named in honor of British astronomer Sydney Chapman. It is awarded every other year, for investigations of outstanding merit in solar-terrestrial physics, including geomagnetism and aeronomy....

    , Royal Astronomical Society
    Royal Astronomical Society
    The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...

  • 1977 - The Japan Academy of Sciences Award
  • 1979 - Fellow of the American Geophysical Union
    American Geophysical Union
    The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...

     (AGU)
  • 1979 - John Adam Fleming Medal, AGU
    American Geophysical Union
    The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...

  • 1980 - Named a Distinguished Alumnus by UAF
    UAF
    UAF may refer to:* University Admissions Finland* University Assistance Fund, Netherlands* University of Alaska Fairbanks, United States* University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan* Unite Against Fascism, United Kingdom...

  • 1981 - Named one of the "1,000 Most-Cited Contemporary Scientists by Current Contents
  • 1985 - First recipient of the Sydney Chapman Chair professorship, UAF
    UAF
    UAF may refer to:* University Admissions Finland* University Assistance Fund, Netherlands* University of Alaska Fairbanks, United States* University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan* Unite Against Fascism, United Kingdom...

  • 1985 - Special Lecture for the Emperor of Japan
    Emperor of Japan
    The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

     on the aurora (October 3)
  • 1986 - Member of the International Academy of Aeronautics, Paris
  • 1987 - Named one of the "Centennial Alumni" by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges
  • 1993 - Japan Foreign Minister's Award for Promoting International Relations and Cultural Exchange between Japan and Alaska
  • 1996 - Japan Posts and Telecommunications Minister Award for Contributions to the US-Japan Joint Project on Environmental Science in Alaska
  • 1997 - Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence, University of Alaska
  • 1999 - Alaskan of the Year - Denali Award
  • 2002 - Named one of the "World's Most Cited Authors in Space Physics" by Current Contents ISI
  • 2003 - Order of the Sacred Treasures
    Order of the Sacred Treasures
    The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...

    , Gold and Silver Stars by the Emperor of Japan
  • 2011 - European Geosciences Union, Hannes Alfvén Medal

External links

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