CHSTM 2020 Into the Clouds with Joanne Simpson
"Under Tropical Skies," https://www.chstm.org/tropicalskies, Jan. 22, 2020 1 Into the Clouds: Joanne Simpson and the Tropical Atmosphere Jim Fleming This presentation, based on the life and work of Joanne (Gerould) Simpson (1923-2010), examines the history of women in meteorology and the history of tropical meteorology in the context of Simpson's long and productive career as pioneer scientist, project leader, and mentor. It is based on the book, FIRST WOMAN: Joanne Simpson and the Tropical Atmosphere (Oxford University Press), scheduled to be published in June 2020. Joanne Simpson (1923-2010) transformed the science of the tropical atmosphere and set a course in science for professional women to follow. She had a lifelong passion for clouds and severe storms, flying into and above them, photographing them, modeling them, intervening in them, studying them from all angles, and mentoring a generation of tropical meteorologists. She flew across the globe into severe weather systems, constructed computer cloud models, experimented on clouds and hurricanes, held two university professorships, married three times, had two lovers (one secret), mentored a generation of meteorologists, male and female, struggled with migraine headaches and depression, blazed a trail for other women to follow, transformed the theory of convection, and opened up a new era of satellite remote sensing of the tropics. The story of her life and work, which will soon be published in full,1 presents a complex, braided narrative of a major life in science, a first-ever excursion into the history of tropical meteorology, and a reflection on the shifting fortunes of women scientists in the twentieth century.
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