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In 1999 Denise Stephenson-Hawk became the provost of Spelman College.
While at Clark Atlanta University, she served as a representative in
UCAR's Academic Affiliates Program. A specialist in satellite
observation of the atmosphere, Stephenson-Hawk is co-principal
investigator for the Urban Systemic Initiative, whose goal is enhancing
math and science achievement in Atlanta's public school system.
(Photo courtesy Spelman College)
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UCAR, through its education and outreach programs, has been instrumental
in guiding the direction of my career for over 20 years. As an
undergraduate student at Spelman College, I had the opportunity to
attend a lecture given by NCAR scientist Warren Washington. He focused
on the dynamics of climate change and the ways that the traditional
disciplines of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology contributed
to our understanding of weather and climate. As a result of that talk, I
decided to pursue graduate studies, not in mathematics (my undergraduate
major), but in environmental modeling. Because UCAR decided to expose
traditionally underrepresented students to the study of the atmosphere,
a new vista appeared to me.
NCAR scientists further guided my career path in the late 1970s. While
employed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley
Research Center, I witnessed the acumen of Robert Dickinson and
Veerabhadran Ramanathan (both based at NCAR at the time) as they
discussed computer-based studies of radiative transfer. It was then that
I decided to attend graduate school at Princeton University, where I
studied geophysical fluid dynamics.
UCAR continues to support programs that motivate minority students to
pursue careers in atmospheric sciences. UCAR's Significant Opportunities
in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) program is one strategy to
build a corps of minority scientists. UCAR president Rick Anthes and
[then] NCAR director Bob Serafin recognized this need and the
opportunity to build this diverse corps. They also assisted me in
garnering support for the Earth systems science program at Clark Atlanta
University.
Another leadership role still awaits fulfillment. In the mid-1800s,
James Pollard Espy called for individuals to report daily temperatures
and rainfall to the National Naval Observatory. Espy engaged the common
citizenry in a campaign that ultimately grew into the National Weather
Service. Hailing from an era when average citizens read scientific
papers, attended lectures, and debated scientists on the implications of
their work, Espy might be surprised at the distance that now separates
the professionals from the citizens. As we face dramatic shifts from
global warming, rapacious stripping of forests, and the ravaging of
ocean ecosystems, a broad engagement of the U.S. populace in the
discussion of what to do next is critical. UCAR has a central role in
this task, for the study of climate change bears on human ecology,
politics, and social sciences as much as on the Earth and its
systems.
The science of weather has no political, geographic, racial, or economic
boundaries. Dust from the dry Sahel fertilizes the Amazon Valley.
Hurricanes striking the U.S. East Coast are spawned off the coast of
West Africa. As UCAR addresses the needs of the "global nation," it must
not only boost the corps of interdisciplinary investigators. It also
must ensure that more representatives of the diverse communities that
lie in the path of rising seas and severe storms are integrally involved
in the discussions and solutions.
Just as Espy managed to engage 19th-century citizens in scientific
discussion, UCAR can succeed in reengaging a diverse population in the
quest to enhance our understanding of global climate change. The debates
to come require a vastly better informed citizenry, led by a broadened
corps of research scientists who represent the diversity of global
cultures. It is a challenge, to be sure, but UCAR was built to face
challenges and advance opportunities in support of the global nation.
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