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 Tuesday, May 1, 2012 Scripps Oceanography Physical Oceanographer Elected to National Academy of Science Bill Young among three from UC San Diego honored Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego Bill Young, a professor of physical oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, received one of the highest honors in science May 1, being named to the National Academy of Sciences.Thirty years after his first stint at Scripps as a postdoctoral researcher, he joins 13 other living Scripps researchers to receive the honor. Young's research is on geophysical fluid dynamics and dynamical oceanography. Young has recently been working on the generation of ocean surface waves and atmospheric water vapor distributions. He is associated with the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) and the Climate, Atmospheric Science and Physical Oceanography Division at Scripps. Young said he was surprised at the news when he found out, adding he ignored the advice of older and wiser colleagues to take the day off and savor it. "It feels a little bit unreal," he said. "It's a great honor and recognition." Born in Brisbane, Australia, he received a B.Sc. in theoretical physics in 1977 and a M.Sc. in applied mathematics in 1978, both from the Australian National University. He received a Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in 1981. He came to Scripps in 1982 as a postdoctoral researcher, then returned to MIT in 1984 as an assistant professor. He returned to Scripps in 1988.  Bill Young "He has done so many things in his unassuming way that have changed the field," said oceanographer Bruce Cornuelle, who is the current Oceans and Atmosphere section head at Scripps. "It's wonderful that his colleagues worked to recognize someone who doesn't market himself or his ideas. He richly deserves this honor, and is a role model for the true spirit of scientific inquiry." He has served as associate editor of the Journal of Marine Research, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics Research. The NAS is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research founded in 1863. The society provides advice and study of specific science issues for the benefit of federal policymakers and the public. The other UC San Diego researchers elected to the academy were Roberto Malinow, a professor in the department of neuroscience, and Ruth Williams, Charles Lee Powell Distinguished Professor, department of mathematics. In addition, Scripps Oceanography alumnus Richard Carlson was also elected. A geochemist at Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington D.C., he received a B.A. in chemistry and Earth science from UC San Diego in 1976 and a Ph.D. in Earth science, from Scripps in 1980. # # # Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview.
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