Walter Orr Roberts
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Walter Orr Roberts (August 20, 1915 – March 12, 1990) was an American astronomer and atmospheric physicist, as well as an educator, philanthropist, and builder. He founded the
National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundatio ...
and took a personal research interest for many years in the study of influences of the Sun on weather and climate.


Early life and education

Walter Orr Roberts was born on August 20, 1915, in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to Ernest Marion Roberts and Alice Elliot Orr. He was the oldest of three children. He attained a Bachelor's degree in Physics from
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
in 1938, and a Masters and PhD in astronomy from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1940 and 1943. In 1940 he married Janet Smock.''New York Times''
"Walter Orr Roberts Is Dead at 74; Expert on Climate's Effect on Life," March 14, 1990
accessed May 25, 2011


Career


High Altitude Observatory

From 1940 to 1946 Roberts was superintendent of the Climax Observing Station, Harvard College Observatory, in Climax Colorado. This site was chosen by Donald H. Menzel in 1939; Menzel also supervised the construction of the observatory and residence on the mining property of the Climax Molybdenum Company. The observatory was installed with a
coronagraph A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view ...
in 1940, which had been developed and tested at the Oakridge Station of Harvard College Observatory (it was patterned after one developed by
Bernard Lyot Bernard Ferdinand Lyot (27 February 1897 in Paris – 2 April 1952 in Cairo) was a French astronomer. Biography An avid reader of the works of Camille Flammarion, he became a member of the Société Astronomique de France in 1915 and made h ...
in the 1930s in France). At the Harvard College Observatory in Climax (elevation 11,520 feet), Roberts observed and concluded that changes in the corona affected radio communications, and in fact these changes provided advance warning of communication disturbances. This became important for WWII wartime security and the observatory work was classified and overseen by the Navy during this period. In 1945, after WWII, the National Bureau of Standards contracted the observatory for reports on solar activity. In 1946, the Climax Harvard College Observatory incorporated with the University of Colorado under CU President Robert L. Stearns's tenure and was renamed the High Altitude Observatory (HAO). At that time, he became the founding director of the
High Altitude Observatory The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) conducts research and provides support and facilities for the solar-terrestrial physics research community in the areas of solar and heliospheric physics, and the effects of solar variability on the Earth's mag ...
(HAO), and remained the director until 1961. HAO launched an Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Relations in January 1956 for a four-year period “to study the effects of the sun on weather with the hope that from this work would come an improvement in weather or climate forecasting based on analysis of variations in the emissions from the sun.” Subsequently he was the founding president of the
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is a US nonprofit consortium of more than 100 colleges and universities providing research and training in the atmospheric and related sciences. UCAR manages the National Center for Atmosph ...
(UCAR) and first director of the
National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundatio ...
(NCAR).


University of Colorado Boulder: UCAR and NCAR

In the fall of 1956, Walter Orr Roberts was named head of the newly created Department of Astro-Geophysics in the graduate school by the Regents of the University of Colorado; instruction began in the fall of 1957. In 1960 after the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) incorporated, Roberts was elected its first president. Boulder was chosen as the site for NCAR, and Roberts was named its inaugural director in 1960 (while continuing to direct HAO). The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was established by UCAR in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF). “The basic purposes of NCAR are: (1) to conduct fundamental research on the processes of the atmosphere on a scope beyond that yet attempted; (2) to provide, or arrange for the provision of, research facilities, to be open to all scientists, that are beyond the capacity of universities or most research groups to acquire or maintain; (3) to provide a center at which various groups in the atmospheric sciences and closely related fields may meet to define goals and plan programs.” The Colorado Legislature appropriated $250,000 to buy 500 acres beneath the Flatirons just south of Boulder (known as Table Mountain) for the new center.
I.M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
was selected as the architect in 1961. The resulting Mesa Laboratory, NCAR’s flagship building, is considered an architectural masterpiece. By 1965, as the director of both UCAR and NCAR, Walter Orr Roberts presided over five branches of NCAR: the Advanced Study Program, the Laboratory of Atmospheric Sciences o
LAS
(which included a Summer Visitor’s program and a Scientific Computing Facility), th
High Altitude Observatory
(HAO), th
Facilities Division
(which included the Research Aviation Facility, the Scientific Balloon Facility, a Library, Machine and Electronics Shops, and Field Observing Support for the Marshall Field Site, the Low-level Sounding System, and Radar Observations), and the Administrative and Support Services Division. In an oral interview in 1987, Roberts “discusses how he came to be NCAR's first director, the purpose for creating a national center, the process for identifying NCAR's initial priorities, the issue of competition between NCAR and university programs, the debate regarding NCAR's focus on research with practical applications, and NCAR's early facilities. Roberts reflects on characteristics of a successful research center, his ideas about administration, and the importance of interdisciplinary research and international cooperation among the scientific community.” Walter Orr Roberts was a pivotal figure in making Boulder, Colorado, a center for scientific research. Boulder attracted such institutions as HAO, UCAR, NCAR, the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory (CRPL) of the National Bureau of Standards, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), JILA, LASP, IBM, Ball Aerospace, and NOAA during the 1940s – 1970s. “Walt was enormously helpful in bringing a lot of very ambitious and competing scientific groups together.”


Climate change

In 1979, Roberts and Henry Lansford published ''The Climate Mandate'', which discussed climatic variation and its implications. Greenhouse Glasnost, which was discussed at a 1989 Sundance Symposium on Global Climate Change, was one outcome of this international exchange. Climate and climate change remain important areas of study for NCAR scientists. From 1974–1981, Roberts served as Director for the Program of Food, Climate, and the World’s Future at the
Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
for Humanistic Studies. He taught a course in world environmental problems, which was conducted by computer communications, for the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla, California, from 1982–1990. ''The Climate Club: A Collection of 299 Provocations Written by Walter Orr Roberts as They Appeared in WBSI Teleconferences Between May 1984 and February 1990'' was published by the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in 1990. For decades, Roberts argued for action to halt
anthropogenic global warming 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 ...
. In 1984, he published '' The Cold and the Dark'' with
Paul R. Ehrlich Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist known for his warnings about the consequences of population growth and limited resources. He is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of St ...
,
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
, and
Donald Kennedy Donald Kennedy (August 18, 1931 – April 21, 2020) was an American scientist, public administrator, and academic. He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1977–1979), President of Stanford University (1980– ...
.


Investigation by HUAC

Throughout his career, Roberts sought cooperation and exchange with international (including Soviet) scientists. Some of these professional contacts caused him to be investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) beginning in 1947. After failing to obtain a security clearance in 1950, he spent a day and a half at the Pentagon where he was “accused of having a close and sympathetic association with known Communist fronts”. His lawyer advised him to write his autobiography and obtain affidavits (which included a letter from Albert Einstein) proving he didn’t attend a lecture he was accused of attending. An FBI report dated 7/1/47 states “ROBERTS, scientist and Director of the Climax Observatory, Climax, Colorado entertained Russian scientists, A. SERVANY and O. MELNIKOV at Climax 2/17-20/47.” After two redacted lines, the report continues “11/29/46; ROBERTS” articles in “Denver Post” secured and forwarded to Bureau. Informant reports ROBERTS plans to visit Russia shortly. Informants describe ROBERTS as publicity seeker; brilliant scientist; firm believer in international scientific exchange, especially with Russia of all atomic information; international do-gooder. ROBERTS stated that he sees little difference in economy of U.S.S.R. and U.S. ROBERTS is Chairman of Rocky Mountain Committee on Nuclear Energy, such Committee contains persons known to be Communist and Communist sympathizers. ROBERTS listed as a speaker for Denver Council of American-Soviet Friendship.” Walter Orr Roberts was ultimately cleared by the committee and given top secret security clearance in 1950.


Personal life

Roberts was an elected member of both the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
and the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. The
minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
3428 Roberts is named after him. His wife, Janet Roberts, was a Boulder City Council member.Reflections on Leadership: Ruth Correll and Janet S. Roberts
(1999). Maria Rogers Oral History Program, Boulder Public Library. They had four children including
David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...
. Roberts died of cancer on March 12, 1990.


Notes


External links


NCAR Archives Walter Orr Roberts Collection

Oral History interview transcript with Walter Orr Roberts 26 July 1983, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives

Walter Orr Roberts and the Climax coronagraph photo
* JSTOR
"Walter Orr Roberts, President-Elect," ''Science'', New Series, Vol. 155, No. 3764, Feb. 17, 1967

Climate Change – With Head and Heart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Walter Orr 1915 births 1990 deaths Harvard University alumni American astronomers Atmospheric physicists Members of the American Philosophical Society