"Munk, 97, said if he were younger, he would study the emerging field of geoengineering."
GRau - Walter, welcome to the fold. You're never too old to aspire to help save the world. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/science/walter-munk-einstein-of-the-oceans-at-97.html?_r=0 "'Einstein of the oceans' weighs in on research Published: Monday, August 24, 2015 Walter Munk, a scientist known as the "Einstein of the oceans," built his reputation for thoroughness and fortuitous timing through decades of work. Munk, now a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, while serving as a military scientist during World War II performed research showing that waves in northwestern Africa were too high for boats carrying the Allies' troops to reach the beaches safely. Though his superiors at first ignored Munk's warnings, he called in a mentor at the Scripps Institution to back up his claims. Eventually, the pair developed calculations to plan beach invasions so ships landed during relative calm. The science was crucial for planning the future D-Day landings two years later. Munk's colleagues describe him as curious and with a penchant for finding scientific problems at just the right time. Munk, 97, said if he were younger, he would study the emerging field of geoengineering. Munk, who colleagues say took advantage of emerging computer analysis tools to perform research, said he's concerned young scientists today fail to ask fundamental questions or take enough risks because they are hamstrung by technology. "Computers are a lot cheaper than boats, and a lot more comfortable," Munk said. "And I'm a little worried about so many people doing computer experiments and losing their ability, the American leadership, in measurements at sea" (Kate Galbraith, New York Times, Aug. 24). " A brief listing of Prof. Munk's awards: Munk was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1956 and to the Royal Society of London in 1976. He has been both a Guggenheim Fellow (three times) and a Fulbright Fellow. He was also named California Scientist of the Year by the California Museum of Science and Industry in 1969. Among the many other awards and honors Munk has received are the Arthur L. Day Medal, from the Geological Society of America in 1965, the Sverdrup Gold Medal of the American Meteorological Society in 1966, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1968, the first Maurice Ewing Medal sponsored by the American Geophysical Union and the U.S. Navy in 1976, the Alexander Agassiz Medal of the National Academy of Sciences in 1977, the Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award from the U.S. Navy in 1978, the National Medal of Science in 1983, the William Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union in 1989, the Vetlesen Prize in 1993, the Kyoto Prize in 1999, the first Prince Albert I Medal in 2001, and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2010 “for his pioneering and fundamental contributions to our understanding of ocean circulation, tides and waves, and their role in the Earth's dynamics”. Munk gave the 1986 Bakerian Lecture at the Royal Society on the Acoustic monitoring of ocean gyres. In 1993 Munk was the first recipient of the Walter Munk Award given "in Recognition of Distinguished Research in Oceanography Related to Sound and the Sea."[37] This award is given jointly by the Oceanography Society, the Office of Naval Research and the US Department of Defense Naval Oceanographic Office.[37] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
