Roger Barry, an Arctic climatologist and director of the University of Colorado at Boulder-based National Snow and Ice Data Center, has received a prestigious 1999 Fellowship award from the American Geophysical Union.
AGU is an organization of international geophysical scientists that annually recognizes members who have made outstanding science and community contributions. The award -- made to no more than 0.1 percent of AGU聮s 35,000 members 聳 was presented to Barry Dec. 15 at the organization聮s annual fall meeting held in San Francisco Dec. 13 to Dec. 17.
Barry聮s nomination recognizes his outstanding research, teaching and service in climatology. Specializing in polar and alpine climates, Barry became interested in meteorology at age 14 and has studied climate both on the ground and using remote sensing satellites throughout his career.
He left school at age 16 to work for the British Meteorological Office and was stationed at a Royal Air Force base making meteorological observations and plotting weather maps. After obtaining degrees in climatology in Britain and Canada, Barry began working at CU-Boulder聮s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research in 1968.
In 1976, he became Director of the World Data Center for Glaciology. The data center is part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The World Data Center for Glaciology acquired the National Snow and Ice Data Center in 1982. NSIDC archives and distributes all forms of snow and ice data for distribution to researchers, students and the general public.
Today, NSIDC is one of seven NASA Earth Observing System data archive centers, providing the public with satellite data, field measurements and related information in an effort to enhance understanding of the global environment.
"During his career, Roger Barry has been instrumental in establishing several initiatives in the hydrological and atmospheric sciences at national and international levels," said Konrad Steffen, associate director of CIRES working in the Division of Cryospheric and Polar Processes.
"He is one of the most respected Arctic geographers in the United States and worldwide."