| 1 | Name: | Dr. Charles D. Keeling | |
| Institution: | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego | ||
| Year Elected: | 2005 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 105. Physical Earth Sciences | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1928 | ||
| Death Date: | June 20, 2005 | ||
Dr. Charles D. Keeling has been associated with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego since 1956. He has been a professor of oceanography since 1968. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in April 1928, he received a B.A. degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1948 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University in 1954. Prior to joining Scripps Institution, Dr. Keeling was a postdoctoral fellow in geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. Keeling's major areas of interest include the geochemistry of carbon and oxygen and other aspects of atmospheric chemistry, with an emphasis on the carbon cycle in nature. He has promoted the study of complex relationships between the carbon cycle and changes in climate. The Keeling record of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii and at other "pristine air" locations, represents an important time series data for the study of global change. Keeling also has studied the role of oceans in modulating the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide by carrying out extremely accurate measurements of carbon dissolved in seawater. Keeling and his colleagues also have undertaken significant efforts in global carbon cycle modeling. As an example, in 1996, Keeling, with his colleagues at Scripps, showed that the amplitude of the Northern Hemispheric seasonal cycle in atmospheric carbon dioxide has been increasing, providing independent support for the conclusion that the growing season in beginning earlier, perhaps in response to global warming. While at Scripps, Keeling has been a Guggenheim Fellow at the Meteorological Institute, University of Stockholm, Sweden (1961-62), and a guest professor at both the Second Physical Institute of the University of Heidelberg, Germany (1969-70), and the Physical Institute of the University of Bern, Switzerland (1979-80). In 2002, President George W. Bush presented Keeling with the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the recipient of the 1980 Second Half Century Award of the American Meteorology Society and the Blue Planet Prize awarded in 1993 by the Science Council of Japan. He received a Special Achievement Award in 1997, presented by Vice President, Albert Gore, the National Medal of Science in 2001, presented by President George Bush, and the Tyler Prize for contributions to global environment science in 2005. | |||