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Tuesday, May 30, 2006 Two UC San Diego Professors Elected to the American Philosophical Society Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego The American Philosophical Society, which was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, has elected to its ranks two University of California, San Diego, professors, one from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and one from the Division of Physical Sciences. V. Ramanathan The society announced this week that V. Ramanathan, distinguished professor of climate and atmospheric sciences at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Peter Wolynes, a professor in both the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Physics, were selected for membership "for promoting useful knowledge." The UCSD researchers join a select group of less than 1,000 members from around the world. Ramanathan is well known for discovering the greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons, which opened the door for a new field focusing on trace gas greenhouse effects and chemistry-climate interactions. He also demonstrated the use of satellite radiation budget observations for inferring the atmospheric greenhouse effect and the radiative forcing due to clouds. More than 25 years ago, he pointed out that global warming would be detected in field observations by 2000. Most recently, he led a project that used unmanned aerial vehicles to collect data in the pollution-filled skies over the Indian Ocean. Ramanathan and colleagues are exploring the data to determine how the particles cause dimming in the earth's atmosphere and lead to cloud formation and effects on precipitation. Wolynes has developed the leading theory of how proteins fold, which has led to computer algorithms that allow one to predict the three-dimensional structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence. His work on the theory of energy landscapes has also impacted condensed matter physics, notably illuminating the nature of glasses and liquids. Wolynes and Ramanathan are also members of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The American Philosophical Society's goal is to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas. The society "honors and engages leading scholars, scientists and professionals through elected membership and opportunities for interdisciplinary, intellectual fellowship." Note to broadcast and cable producers: UCSD 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. Scripps Institution of Oceanography:scripps.ucsd.edu Scripps News:scrippsnews.ucsd.edu # # # 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. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. The National Research Council has ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide. Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,300, and annual expenditures of approximately $155 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration. |
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