- UCAR president Rick Anthes called Bob "the most truthful, honest person I know and also the fairest." In dealing with tough problems, he found Bob "extremely insightful--quick to get to the crux of arguments." He gave Bob kudos for orchestrating such coups as acquiring the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft in 1993 without affecting NCAR's core funding.
- UCAR's Steve Dickson recalled a marathon weekend he and Dave Waltman spent working on a complex fiscal plan during his days as NCAR budget director under Bob. When they presented the results of their grueling work to the boss that Monday morning, "Bob tapped on his calculator a few times and said, 'That's about right.' "
- John McCarthy, the founding director of RAP: "What can I say about my mentor of 21 years? A lot." John cited Bob's "great patience" and his ability to give people space to carry out projects as they saw fit, which he called "a great sign of leadership." He also noted the "intellectual glue" that Bob provided in the early 1980s in the effort to study wind shear and its threat to aviation, work that led to the creation of RAP.
- SCD director Al Kellie, who arrived two years ago from the Canadian Meteorological Centre, joked that "Bob went fishing in Canada and came home with me." He also revealed that Bob knows exactly how to communicate with entrepreneurs: "He can talk about the weather, he can talk about airplanes, and he can talk about golf." Rachelle Daily joined Al to present Bob with a plaque-mounted module from the one-of-a-kind CRAY-3 housed at NCAR in the mid-1990s.
- CGD director Maurice Blackmon said he appreciated Bob's support during the division's transition to the Climate System Model: "He can see into people. He can understand their motivations."
- UCAR distinguished scientist Joach Kuettner commented on his amazement that Bob always seemed to visit field programs only on days when things were running smoothly and the field managers were in consensus. He had no explanation other than "Bob is an exceptional man."
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Bob Serafin during a pensive party moment.
(Photos by Lynda Lester.)
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| Betsy Serafin recalled the morning when her husband, in true directorial fashion, asked her how thoroughly she'd planned her day and what goals she'd set for it.
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