American Meteorological Society

Interviewed by
Frank Amico
Interview dates
August 9 & 12, 2024
Location
NCAR Mesa Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado
Abstract

Interview with Clara Deser, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Deser describes growing up in Massachusetts with intellectual parents, her father being physicist Stanley Deser and her mother being an artist. She recalls her early schooling, including time spent in France during her father’s sabbatical, which is where she discovered her love for maps. Deser discusses the beginning of her undergraduate studies at Smith College before transferring to MIT, where she became interested in geology, earth sciences, meteorology, and oceanography. She shares stories from her field work as a seagoing oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she worked after graduation. Deser explains her decision to pursue graduate studies in atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington under Mike Wallace. She reflects on the sense of camaraderie within the department and describes her thesis research on El Niño. The interview concludes with Deser recalling the many conferences she has attended over the years and her involvement in the American Meteorological Society. 

Interviewed by
Nils Randlev Hundebøl
Interview date
Location
Belmont, California
Abstract

In this interview, Chuck Hakkarinen discusses topics such as: his career with Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), climate modeling, Model Evaluation Consortium for Climate Assessment (MECCA) project; his education in meteorology and air polution; Willard Libby; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); Chauncey Starr; Sam Schurr; Peter Hobbs; his father's work on the Naval Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device (NOMAD); precipitation chemistry networks; United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Rene Males; American Meteorological Society (AMS); Helmut Landsberg; carbon dioxide; climate research; Geophysical Monitoring for Climate Change (GMCC); Ralph Cicerone; George Hidy; Richard Anthes; Warren Washington; National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); Ralph Perhac; Peter Mueller; North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP); Climate Simulation Laboratory; National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Ann Henderson-Sellers; Tom Wigley; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Dick Balzhiser.