Parker MacCready is an American oceanographer. He is a professor at the School of Oceanography at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Early life and education

MacCready was born and raised in Southern California to father

Paul MacCready Paul B. MacCready Jr. (September 25, 1925 – August 28, 2007) was an American aeronautical engineer. He was the founder of AeroVironment and the designer of the human-powered aircraft that won the first Kremer prize. He devoted his life to dev ...

, an atmospheric scientist. Growing up in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, MacCready helped his father design the Bionic Bat and used it to break the world speed record for human-powered flight in 1984. MacCready completed his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in architecture at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in engineering science at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. He finished his formal education with his PhD in physical oceanography from the

(UW). During his PhD, MacCready developed a new theory of the circulation of the deepest layers of the ocean.

Career

Following his PhD, MacCready joined the faculty at the University of Washington as a professor of their school of oceanography. In 2014, upon returning from his stint as a visiting researcher at Microsoft Research, MacCready partnered with the organization to improve the visualization and analysis of

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

modeling. Following this, he received a five-year grant from the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

to co-develop an early warning system for toxic harmful algal blooms in the Pacific Northwest. During his tenure at UW, Parker and his colleagues created LiveOcean, a computer model that has the ability to predict when Washington's waters become corrosive. In 2021, MacCready was elected a Fellow of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

for his work to "advance fundamental understanding of ocean coasts and estuaries, or marine environments where freshwater and saltwater mix."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCready, Parker Living people American oceanographers University of Washington faculty University of Washington alumni Yale University alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Fellows of the American Geophysical Union 1959 births