DONATIONS TO CMOS - BIOS for Named Funds
Biographies for Named Funds
TERTIA MARY CLEMENCY HUGHES (1967-1998)
Atmospheric and ocean scientist, extraordinary graduate student. Born in Ottawa July 24, 1967. Died in Woodstock, Ont. on November 23, 1998 after struggling with an eating disorder, aged 31.
She was named Tertia because she was the third child in her family. At the age of six weeks, she moved to Quebec City where she spent her childhood and high school years. As a child Tertia was an avid reader. She asked for Alice Through the Looking Glass for her fifth birthday because she enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and had read about the sequel at the back of the book. When she was seven, her parents overheard her giving her younger brother a clear explanation of the theory of evolution: "So you see, that's how we are related to mermaids".
In 1983, upon graduation from high school, she entered CEGEP Champlain Regional College in Ste Foy, Quebec. Clearly a gifted student, Tertia graduated at 17, the youngest in her class. She received her Diplôme d'études collégiales along with a prestigious award for academic excellence, and a Université Laval entrance scholarship where she completed first year.
In 1986, Tertia returned to her birthplace and in 1989 was awarded an Honours BSc in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Ottawa, with great distinction. She also won the science faculty's silver medal for academic excellence, given to the student with the top marks in all areas of science. Her transcript shows why she received this: 28/28 first class marks, 22 of these being an A+.
In 1987 and 1988, she worked with Dr. Michel Leclerc at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique-Eau (INRS) of Université du Québec.
Tertia arrived at McGill University in 1989 holding an NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) postgraduate fellowship, after refusing a McGill Women's Centennial Fellowship because she felt that gender discrimination should never be a factor in academic achievement. She studied numerical methods in atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and Prof. Lawrence Mysak, who taught her three graduate courses, said "she was a remarkably talented student, exceptionally bright, yet very modest".
Once her MSc course work was completed, Tertia undertook research on the temperature and salt circulation of the Indian Ocean, and completed her thesis in record time (about six months). The external examiner for her MSc thesis, Prof. Mike Foreman, found her research outstanding. She won the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society's (CMOS) Graduate Student Prize, awarded at the Society's 1991 annual congress.
She immediately started PhD research in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences of McGill, and began by writing a literature review on the role of the oceans in climate. Her instructor, Prof. Andrew Weaver, was so impressed by this review that he asked her to join him as a co author for a follow-up paper, recalling she was more like a colleague than a student. At McGill, she received the top marks in every MSc and PhD class.
In 1992, Tertia moved to the University of Victoria's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences where Prof. Weaver had accepted a faculty position. With support from major national fellowships, Tertia examined ocean circulation and atmosphere-ocean interactions, completing her thesis in 1995. She became so respected that, even as a PhD student, she began to review manuscripts for scientific journals. She remained at UVic as a Research Associate for nine months, collaborating with many scientists in national institutes.
During her years at UVic, Tertia developed many close and lasting friends who enjoyed her warmth and kindness. She was an active organizer of social events such as going-away parties, baby showers and birthdays. Prof. Weaver says that Tertia was one of the most remarkable persons he has ever worked with. She was extraordinarily bright and energetic, easily accomplishing the work of several people.
In January 1996, Tertia moved to Princeton University to work with Prof. Jorge Sarmiento. She immersed herself in her new job with the same enthusiasm, energy and dedication that she had shown in her graduate and undergraduate days. She developed a deep understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and became the lead investigator in a project to study the effect of this cycle on climate warming. This included a major contribution towards the development of the next generation of computer models used to study ocean circulation, climate change and global warming.
Upon hearing the news of Tertia's death in 1998, the response from scientists around the world was overwhelming. Because she died so young, her further successes were lost and will be missed by the world scientific community.
The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) has named its Graduate Student Prize "The Tertia MC Hughes Memorial Graduate Student Prize" in her honour. The Prize includes a financial award from contributions received from friends and CMOS members. The first award was made at the 2000 CMOS congress in Victoria.
ROGER WILLIS DALEY (1943-2001)
Roger Willis Daley, UCAR Distinguished Scientific Visitor at the Naval Research Lab in Monterey, died at his home in Carmel Valley, California, August 29, 2001. Daley was born in Purley, England on January 25, 1943. He moved with his parents at an early age to West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He studied at the University of British Columbia graduating with a B. S. in mathematics and physics in 1964. He completed a M. S. in Meteorology at McGill University in 1966 with a thesis on the topic of large-scale rainfall prediction. After two years as a professional weather forecaster in Goose Bay, Labrador and Montreal, Quebec, he began PhD studies at McGill, graduating in 1971. His PhD thesis was on the simulation of convection using the spectral method.
Daley spent two years of post-doctoral studies at the Institute for Theoretical Meteorology in Copenhagen before returning to Canada to a research scientist position with the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) in Montréal. From 1973 to 1977, he carried out research and development on numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems that were implemented at the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC). He was the team leader for the world's first operational spectral forecast model, which was implemented in 1976. The spectral approach is now used in most operational global NWP centres and forms the dynamical basis for most climate models presently in use. He also was a co-developer of the variable resolution finite element model that was used for regional forecasting applications in Canada for many years.
In 1977, Daley accepted a position at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado where he carried out research on non-linear normal mode initialization and other outstanding problems in the dynamics of large-scale atmospheric flow particularly as they related to global NWP. He also became much more interested in the science of data assimilation. During this period, Daley was author or co-author on some 16 publications in the refereed literature and was honoured by receiving the NCAR outstanding publication award. Nevertheless, he did not neglect his interest in operational applications. He was involved in implementation of nonlinear normal mode initialization for baroclinic models at CMC in Canada and at Météo-France in Paris; and implemented an innovative error covariance formulation at the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts.
In 1985, Daley returned to Canada to take up the position of Chief Scientist in the Canadian Climate Centre. He was an integral part of the development of the research agenda for the Canadian Climate Program that was ultimately a major initiative of Canada's Green Plan. This program supported the development of a vigorous climate research capability in Canada that thrives to this day. His personal scientific work was consumed with the production of a book entitled "Atmospheric Data Assimilation", which was published in 1991. This book is now a classic. In writing the book, Daley encountered many vexing difficulties and inconsistencies with the approaches used in operational data assimilation. He proceeded to tackle and resolve these questions. These investigations led to an explosion of publications by Daley in the refereed literature during the period 1985 to 1995. By the time he left the MSC he was firmly established as a world leader in data assimilation through his comprehensive book, but also in terms of creative new developments in the theory and practice of data assimilation. Some scientists believe that Daley was largely responsible for elevating data assimilation to be a prestigious field of scientific enquiry.
In 1995, Daley accepted a position as a UCAR Distinguished Scientific Visitor at the Marine Meteorology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, in Monterey, California, and moved his family to the Carmel Valley. Daley took on the job of the design and construction of a new three-dimensional variational data assimilation system specifically meant to serve the needs of the US Navy. This system is now known as the NRL Atmospheric Variational Data Assimilation System, or NAVDAS. It was put in operation at Fleet Numerical Oceanography and Meteorology Center and Navy regional centres in 2003. NAVDAS is designed to meet data assimilation needs of both global models and regional nested models. Daley continued to innovate as he continued to implement. His colleagues at NRL Monterey greatly admired his ability to be equally productive in the "nitty-gritty" computer programming of components of NAVDAS as he was in the abstract matrix algebra of data assimilation theory. Daley was full of ideas and very active in research on an accelerated cycling representor method as a new approach to four-dimensional data assimilation.
Throughout his career, Daley was in demand as a consultant, as a scientific visitor and adjunct professor. He held visiting appointments at ECMWF; Météo-France; Florida State University and The Meteorological Institute of Stockholm University. He was an adjunct professor at McGill University, Colorado State University and the Naval Postgraduate School and a Scientist Emeritus with the Meteorological Service of Canada. He also lectured extensively throughout the world including a series of lectures in Beijing, China; as a principal lecturer at the 1990 Summer Colloquium at NCAR and at the University of Toulon in France. He also gave unstintingly of his time and energy to professional activities serving on many important international scientific committees, carrying out scientific reviews and serving as member of journal editorial boards of the AMS and the Swedish Geophysical Society. He was Editor for the CMOS journal Atmosphere-Ocean from 1989-1992.
Daley received many honours during his career. From the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) he received the Prize in Applied Meteorology in 1975 and the President's Prize in 1982. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1993 and a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) in 1997. In January 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Jules Charney Medal of the AMS for a lifetime of outstanding scientific achievement.
Daley was an avid mountaineer and very interested in the history of polar exploration. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Lucia; a daughter, Kate Daley of Victoria , B. C.; a son, Charlie Daley of Arcata, California; a brother Andrew Daley of Kelowna, B. C.; two nephews and a niece.
Philip Merilees, Superintendent, Marine Meteorology Division Naval Research Laboratory
DANIEL WRIGHT (1952-2010)
Dan Wright was a highly-regarded scientist with the Ocean Sciences Division (OSD) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO). Dan obtained his B. Sc. in Mathematics from Laurentian University in 1975, and his Ph. D. in Applied Mathematics and Oceanography from the University of British Columbia in 1978 under the mentorship of Professor Lawrence Mysak. He was then a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1978-1979) with Dr. Harry Bryden, and a Research Associate at Dalhousie University (1979-1981) with Professor Chris Garrett.
In late 1981 Dan accepted a Research Scientist position in the Ocean Circulation Section of BIO where he was a highly productive, generous and respected scientist, and an advisor, colleague and friend to many in the oceanographic and atmospheric research communities. In 2008 Dan was promoted to the Government of Canada's highest Research Scientist level, recognizing his outstanding scientific and other contributions both nationally and internationally.
Dan was also a long-time Adjunct Professor in the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University where he cherished the opportunity to interact with students and young scientists.
Dan used his elite mathematical skills and clear thinking to advance our understanding of a very broad range of physical oceanographic phenomena and their role in the broader Earth system, building on both theory and observations. He made major contributions on topics ranging from the thermodynamics of sea water to the role of the ocean in climate dynamics, including baroclinic instability, tidal rectification and other continental shelf dynamics, regional- to global-scale ocean circulation, physical-biogeochemical interactions, the development of innovative circulation models, and the oceanography of the Northwest Atlantic. He co-authored over 70 papers in international scientific journals, and many other reports and communications.
Dan's scientific excellence and impact were recognized by the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society through his receipt of its President's Prize in 1992, and by his selection as a CNC-SCOR Tour Speaker. He was one of Canada's leading physical oceanographers whose impacts on the national and international scientific and related communities, and on future scientists, will be widespread and long-lasting. Above all, Dan Wright was a very decent human being - being gifted yet generous and humble, rigorous yet compassionate, motivated yet fair and honest, and devoted to his profession yet also very devoted to his family.
Donations in Dan's memory can be made to the Scholarship Fund of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS).
CMOS Bulletin, August 2010
Uri Schwarz (1920-2010)
Uri Schwarz was a long-time supporter of CMOS. After he passed away in 2010, the CMOS Annual General Meeting decided to name the Development Fund in his honour.
Uri was born in Vienna, Austria on 22 July 1920, and passed away in Ottawa on May 2, 2010. His wife, Jetti Flora Deen, predeceased him in 1997.
In 1938, following the Anschluss of Austria with Germany, he left to study in Italy, and then moved to Palestine where he studied at the Technical University, Haifa. With the outbreak of WWII, he joined the RAF where he trained as a meteorologist and served in Egypt and in Persia. After the war he joined the Palestine Meteorological Service and, with the establishment of the State of Israel, the Israeli Air Force and subsequently the Israeli Meteorological Service, in charge of aeronautical meteorology. In 1957 he joined the International Civil Aviation Organization working first at its HQ in Montreal, and then in the European Regional Office in Paris, returning to Montreal as Chief of the Meteorology Section in 1967. After retiring from ICAO in 1982 he moved to Ottawa, where he became Executive Director of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. Although he retired from that activity in 1994, he was appointed Executive Director Emeritus (an honour of which he was very proud) and he continued to work for CMOS on a part-time basis until a few months before his death. A kind, thoughtful, charming man who spoke English, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Italian and French, he could pun in several languages and loved to write limericks for any occasion.