Graeme Stephens Explained

Graeme Stephens
Birth Name:Graeme Leslie Stephens
Fields:Atmospheric sciences
Workplaces:Caltech
Colorado State University
University of Reading
University of Melbourne
Alma Mater:University of Melbourne (BS, PhD)
Thesis Title:The transfer of radiation in cloudy atmospheres
Thesis Url:https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/25976213
Thesis Year:1977
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Known For:CloudSat
Awards:Jule G. Charney Award (2005)
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Graeme Leslie Stephens [1] is director of the center for climate sciences at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology[2] and professor of earth observation the University of Reading.[3]

Education

Stephens was educated at the University of Melbourne in Australia where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics 1973 in followed by a PhD in meteorology in 1977.[4]

Career and research

Stephens research has provided leadership in three major disciplinary areas of Earth sciences:

  1. Atmospheric radiation and radiative transfer[1]
  2. Earth observations and remote sensing[1]
  3. Understanding critical cloud-climate feedbacks and related effects on the Earth's energy budget[1]

Stephens has pioneered quantitative uses of global Earth observations and combined this with theory to study Earth's climate change feedback.[1] He provided leadership in designing and developing international satellite programs exemplified by his creation and leadership of the decade long CloudSat satellite mission[5] that is providing novel insights and understanding of the Earth's clouds, precipitation and their role in climate.[1] [6] [7]

Awards and honours

Stephens was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States in 2015,[1] received the Jule G. Charney Award of the American Meteorological Society for pioneering advances in understanding and measuring radiation processes and their role in climate, and received the Gold Medal of the International Radiation Commission in recognition of world leading contributions to the radiation community.[1] He also received National Aeronautics Space Administration, Exceptional Public Service Medal.[1]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Professor Graeme Stephens FRS. Anon. 2018. Royal Society. London. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
  2. Web site: Science - Center for Climate Sciences (3292): People: Graeme Stephens. Graeme. Stephens. science.jpl.nasa.gov.
  3. Web site: Graeme Stephens Home Page. The University of. Reading. www.met.reading.ac.uk.
  4. The transfer of radiation in cloudy atmospheres. University of Melbourne. PhD. 220235247. 1977. Graeme Leslie. Stephens.
  5. Stephens. Graeme L.. Vane. Deborah G.. Boain. Ronald J.. Mace. Gerald G.. Sassen. Kenneth. Wang. Zhien. Illingworth. Anthony J.. O'connor. Ewan J.. Rossow. William B.. Durden. Stephen L.. Miller. Steven D.. Austin. Richard T.. Benedetti. Angela. Mitrescu. Cristian. THE CLOUDSAT MISSION AND THE A-TRAIN: A New Dimension of Space-Based Observations of Clouds and Precipitation. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 83. 12. 2002. 1771–1790. 0003-0007. 10.1175/BAMS-83-12-1771. free.
  6. Stephens. Graeme L.. Tsay. Si-Chee. Stackhouse. Paul W.. Flatau. Piotr J.. The Relevance of the Microphysical and Radiative Properties of Cirrus Clouds to Climate and Climatic Feedback. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 47. 14. 1990. 1742–1754. 0022-4928. 10.1175/1520-0469(1990)047<1742:TROTMA>2.0.CO;2. 1990JAtS...47.1742S . free.
  7. Stephens. Graeme L.. Cloud Feedbacks in the Climate System: A Critical Review. Journal of Climate. 18. 2. 2005. 237–273. 0894-8755. 10.1175/JCLI-3243.1. 2005JCli...18..237S . 16122908 . free.