Joanne Simpson

Joanne Simpson (formerly Joanne Malkus, born Joanne Gerould; March 23, 1923 – March 4, 2010) was the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, which she received in 1949 from the University of Chicago.[1][2][3] Simpson received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago, and did post-doctoral work at Dartmouth College.[4] Simpson was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and taught and researched meteorology at numerous universities as well as the federal government. Simpson contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences, particularly in the field of tropical meteorology. She has researched hot towers, hurricanes, the trade winds, air-sea interactions, and helped develop the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM).

Joanne Simpson
Simpson bent over reams of images of clouds that she filmed during long flights between islands in the tropical Pacific.
Born
Joanne Gerould

(1923-03-23)March 23, 1923
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedMarch 4, 2010(2010-03-04) (aged 86)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Known forTropical meteorology and tropical cyclone research
Spouse(s)
(
m. 1944)

Willem Malkus
(
m. 1948)

​
(
m. 1965)
ChildrenDavid S. Malkus, Steven W. Malkus, Karen E. Malkus
AwardsCarl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
Scientific career
FieldsMeteorology
ThesisCertain Features of Undisturbed and Disturbed Weather in the Trade-Wind Region (1949)
Doctoral advisorHerbert Riehl

Academia

Her teaching and research career at universities includes time at the University of Chicago, New York University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, UCLA, the Environmental Satellite Services Administration (ESSA),[5] the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), University of Virginia, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Research

In 1958 Malkus collaborated with Herbert Riehl and calculated the average moist static energy and how it varied vertically throughout the atmosphere. They noted that at altitudes up to approximately 750 hPa the moist static energy decreased with height. Above 750 hPa, the moist static energy increased with height which had neither been observed or explained before. Riehl and Malkus realized that this must be due to moist convection that started near the surface that continued rising relatively adiabatically to near 50,000 feet (15,000 m). They called these clouds "undiluted chimneys" but they would later be commonly referred to as hot towers.[6] They estimated that it would take less than 5,000 of these towers daily throughout the tropics to result in the moist static energy profile they observed.

By 1966 she became the director of Project Stormfury while chief of the Experimental Meteorology Branch of the Environment Satellite Services Administration's Institute for Atmospheric Sciences.[7] She eventually became NASA's lead weather researcher and authored or co-authored over 190 articles.

Awards

Personal

She is quoted as saying winning the Rossby Medal in 1983 made her feel "it isn't really so ridiculous that I did all of this. I'm not really a freak; I am a member of the community."

Yet, poignantly, in an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, she was quoted as saying "I am not convinced that either the position, rewards or achievements have been worth the cost. My personal and married life and child raising have surely suffered from the professional attainments I have achieved."

Her brother Daniel C. Gerould was the Lucille Lortel Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and Director of Publications of the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center. Her husband was hurricane expert Robert Simpson. Her former husband Willem Van Rensselaer Malkus (1923-2016) was a professor of applied mathematics at MIT.

Simpson died March 4, 2010 in Washington D.C., surrounded by her family.

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References
  1. "Welcome to the University of Chicago College Report Online". Magazine.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  2. Tao, W.-K.; Halverson, J.; LeMone, M.; Alder, R.; Garstang, M.; Houze Jr., R.; Pielke Sr., R.; Woodley, W. (2003). "The Research of Dr. Joanne Simpson: Fifty Years Investigating Hurricanes, Tropical Clouds, and Cloud Systems" (PDF). Meteorological Monographs. Cloud Systems, Hurricanes, and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM): A Tribute to Dr. Joanne Simpson. 29 (51): 1–16. Bibcode:2003MetMo..29....1T. doi:10.1175/0065-9401(2003)029<0001:CTRODJ>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2060/20020011611.
  3. Atlas D and Lemone MA (2011) Joanne Simpson, Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, 15, 368-375.
  4. Gutro, Rob (2005). "Meet Dr. Joanne Simpson: Chief Scientist Emeritus for Meteorology, Earth Sun Exploration Division". nasa.gov. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  5. Herbert Leib (October 1966). "Joanne Simpson" (PDF). ESSA World: 7.
  6. Riehl, H.; Malkus, J.S. (1958). "On the heat balance in the equatorial trough zone". Geophysica. 6: 503–538.
  7. Herbert Leib (October 1966). "Project Stormfury" (PDF). ESSA World: 4.
  8. Staff (April 1967). "23 Medals Awarded to ESSA Employees". ESSA World: 34–35.
  9. Staff (April 1968). "ESSA Scientists Receive Honors" (PDF). ESSA World: 33.
  10. "Winners of the IMO Prize". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.

Further reading
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