Robert Jay Charlson was an American

atmospheric scientist Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study of ...

climate scientist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

, pioneer in the fields of

climate forcing Earth's climate system is a complex system having five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things). ''C ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and coauthor of the

CLAW hypothesis The CLAW hypothesis proposes a negative feedback loop that operates between ocean ecosystems and the Earth's climate. The hypothesis specifically proposes that particular phytoplankton that produce dimethyl sulfide are responsive to variations ...

.Charlson is known for his research in atmospheric chemistry, aerosol physics, aerosol/cloud/climate interaction, aerosol and cloud instrumentation.

Life and times

On September 30, 1936, Robert Jay Charlson was born at

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

and his mother's name was listed as Stucky. On March 16, 1964, a marriage license listed Robert J. Charlson, age 27, born at San Jose, California, joined Patricia E. Allison, age 23, born at

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, in lawful wedlock in the University Christion Church at

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

. The license was issued on February 24, 1964, and filed with the King County Auditor on March 18, 1964.

Education and career

Charlson received a BS and MS degrees in chemistry from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Harold S. Johnston was his undergraduate advisor. His master's thesis was titled: “Techniques for High Speed Flash Photolysis”. In 1964, Charlson was awarded a PhD in

atmospheric sciences Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study of ...

from the

University of Washington, Seattle 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 ...

. His advisor was Konrad Büttner. As of 2021, he is professor emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences,

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, and

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

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 ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. Charlson was one of the lead authors for Chapter 2, "Radiative forcing of climate change" in the 1995

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...

(IPCC) working group report. He has also been a contributing author for the 1990 and the 2001 IPCC assessment reports.

Selected publications

* * * *

Awards and honors

, Honors at entrance *

Phi Lambda Upsilon Phi Lambda Upsilon National Honorary Chemical Society () was founded in 1899 at the Noyes Laboratory of the University of Illinois. Phi Lambda Upsilon was the first honor society dedicated to scholarship in a single discipline, chemistry. Object ...

member *Stanford University Undergraduate Scholarships, 1955–1958 *

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, 1964–1965, Cloud Physics. *

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Visiting Lectureship in

Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

, Germany and England, September–October 1969 *

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

, RESA Regional Lecturer, Pacific Area, 1972–1973; Speaker at Spring 1973 Initiation Meeting, University of Washington *World Meteorological Association, Gerbier-Mumm Award, (with

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating sys ...

Meinrat Andreae Meinrat O. Andreae, born in 1949 in Augsburg, is a German biogeochemist. Since 1987, he has worked as Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz. Biography Meinrat O. Andreae studied chemistry, mi ...

and Stephen G. Warren), interdisciplinary scientific paper pertaining to meteorology, 1988 *In 1993,

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

awarded Charlson an honorary doctoral degree, "Hedersdoktor," PhDh.c. *

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the Atmospheric sciences, atmospheric, Oceanography, oceanic, and Hydrology, hydr ...

, fellow, 1995 *

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 ...

, fellow, 1995 *In 1995, as a result of the work Charlson pursued, the journal

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

named the

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...

aerosol as one of nine runners-up for

Molecule of the Year The Breakthrough of the Year is an annual award for the most significant development in scientific research made by the AAAS journal ''Science,'' an academic journal covering all branches of science. Originating in 1989 as the ''Molecule of the Ye ...

. *In 2009, Charlson received the ASLI Choice Award from the Atmospheric Science Librarians International for the work titled: “Clouds in the perturbed climate system: their relationship to energy balance, atmospheric dynamics, and precipitation”. This publication was edited by Jost Heintzenberg and Robert J. Charlson. The award is the highest award and represents ASLI's Choice “for quality, authoritativeness, and comprehensive coverage of new and important aspects of cloud research”.

Patents

*Photon-counting integrating

nephelometer A nephelometer or aerosol photometer is an instrument for measuring the concentration of suspended particulates in a liquid or gas colloid. A nephelometer measures suspended particulates by employing a light beam (source beam) and a light detec ...

. U.S. Patent No. 3,953,127. *Measurement of the

Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

ratio for atmospheric aerosols using a 180-degree-backscatter

. U.S. Patent No. 6,404,494. *Method and apparatus for investigating temporal development of particles or droplets in gas-vapor mixture. U.S. Patent No. 6,766,702.Heintzenberg, Jost, Charlson, R. J., Stratmann, Frank, Wendisch, Manfred, & Wurzler, Sabine. (2004). Method and apparatus for investigating temporal development of particles or droplets in gas-vapor mixture. U.S. Patent No. 6,766,702. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Issued July 27, 2004.

References

External links

Atmospheric Science Librarians International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlson, Robert Jay 1936 births Living people People from Santa Clara, California 20th-century American inventors 21st-century American inventors American atmospheric scientists Stanford University alumni Stockholm University alumni University of Washington alumni University of Washington faculty Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead authors Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change contributing authors