Robert Jay Charlson

Robert Jay Charlson was an American atmospheric scientist, climate scientist, pioneer in the fields of climate forcing and climate change, and coauthor of the CLAW hypothesis.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 and his mother's name was listed as Stucky.[1] 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, in lawful wedlock in the University Christion Church at King County, Washington. The license was issued on February 24, 1964, and filed with the King County Auditor on March 18, 1964.[2]

Education and career

Charlson received a BS and MS degrees in chemistry from Stanford University. Harold S. Johnston was his undergraduate advisor.[3] His master's thesis was titled: “Techniques for High Speed Flash Photolysis”.[4] In 1964, Charlson was awarded a PhD in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington, Seattle.[5] His advisor was Konrad Büttner.[6][7] As of 2021, he is professor emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences, chemistry, and geophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.[8]

Charlson was one of the lead authors for Chapter 2, "Radiative forcing of climate change" in the 1995 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working group report.[9] He has also been a contributing author for the 1990 and the 2001 IPCC assessment reports.[10]

Selected publications

Awards and honors
  • Stanford University, Honors at entrance
  • Phi Lambda Upsilon member
  • Stanford University Undergraduate Scholarships, 1955–1958
  • Imperial College, London University, Fulbright Scholar, 1964–1965, Cloud Physics.
  • NATO Visiting Lectureship in Meteorology, Germany and England, September–October 1969
  • Sigma Xi, 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, Meinrat Andreae and Stephen G. Warren), interdisciplinary scientific paper pertaining to meteorology, 1988
  • In 1993, Stockholm University awarded Charlson an honorary doctoral degree, "Hedersdoktor," PhDh.c.
  • American Meteorological Society, fellow, 1995
  • American Geophysical Union, fellow, 1995
  • In 1995, as a result of the work Charlson pursued, the journal Science named the sulfate aerosol as one of nine runners-up for Molecule of the Year.[11]
  • 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”.[12] 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”.[13]

Patents
  • Photon-counting integrating nephelometer. U.S. Patent No. 3,953,127.[14]
  • Measurement of the Lidar ratio for atmospheric aerosols using a 180-degree-backscatter nephelometer. U.S. Patent No. 6,404,494.[15]
  • Method and apparatus for investigating temporal development of particles or droplets in gas-vapor mixture. U.S. Patent No. 6,766,702.[16]

References
  1. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Database, FamilySearch. Robert Jay Charlson, September 30, 1936. Citing Santa Clara, California. United States. Department of Health Services. Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  2. Washington, Marriage Records, 1865–2004. (2012). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Original data: Washington State Archives. Olympia, Washington: Washington State Archives.
  3. Johnston, Harold S. (1992). Atmospheric Ozone. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry. 43: 1–32.
  4. Charlson, Robert Jay. (1959). Techniques for High Speed Flash Photolysis. Department of Chemistry, Stanford University.
  5. Charlson, Robert J (1964). Liquid film hygrometry (Thesis). OCLC 19960471.
  6. Socci, Anthony D. (April 25, 1996). The Role of Aerosols in Climate Change. USGCRP Seminar on The Role of Aerosols and Climate Change, April 25. U.S. Global Change Research Program Second Monday Seminar Series. Rayburn House Office Bldg., Room B369. Washington, DC.
  7. Mainz, Vera V. and Girolami, Gregory S. (1998). Robert Jay Charlson. Genealogy Database Entry.
  8. "Emeritus Faculty". Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  9. "Chapter 2 : Radiative Forcing of Climate Change AR2-WG1" (PDF). 1995.
  10. "IPCC report authors".
  11. Editor. (1995). Molecule of the Year: A New Form of Matter Unveiled. Science. 270: 1902.
  12. Heintzenberg, Jost & Charlson, Robert J. (2009). Clouds in the Perturbed Climate System. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  13. Editor. (2010). 2009 ASLI Choice Awards. Atmospheric Science Librarians International.
  14. Ahlquist, Norman C., Waggoner, Alan P., & Charlson, R. J. (1976). Photon-counting integrating nephelometer. U.S. Patent No. 3,953,127. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Issued April 27, 1976.
  15. Masonis, Sarah J., Anderson, Theodore L., & Charlson, Robert J. (2002). Measurement of the Lidar ratio for atmospheric aerosols using a 180-degree-backscatter nephelometer. U.S. Patent No. 6,404,494. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Issued June 11, 2002.
  16. 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.
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