I usually don't like serious posts, but I need to get this one out of my system after receiving a sad e-mail from a friend of mine in my research lab. It is with a heavy heart and a few tears that I post this -- the passing of one of the greatest scientists of our time. I had the privelege of meeting him at the annual MODIS conference at University of Montana last year and also hiking and chatting with him. He was a real character and extremely approachable, an energetic man who was not only one of the greatest minds but also embraced life eagerly. His papers were also inspiring to me when I read them -- they were easy to read and follow, but at the same time, spoke to me with a challenge to continue understanding the carbon cycle and climatic effects. My focus has shifted since to a remote sensing-driven model for water and carbon, but I still remember those papers from a global biogeochemistry class I took what now felt like a lifetime ago.
I, like the rest of my colleagues, will miss this wonderful scientist greatly...
Here's an excerpt and a link to the article:
"Charles David Keeling, the world's leading authority on atmospheric
greenhouse gas accumulation and climate science pioneer at Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego (UCSD),
died Monday, June 20, 2005, while at his Montana home, of a heart attack.
He was 77 years old. Keeling has been affiliated with Scripps since 1956."
A full article is at:
http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/article_detail.cfm?article_num=687
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