Interview about ocean observation

An interview with Jesse Ausubel appears in the 9th newsletter of the alumni network for the oceans of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans, pp. 15-16.  Jesse teamed with Charles Kennel (then director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography) and Robert Gagosian (then director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) to found POGO in 1999.

Passing of Dr. Robert M. White

Dr. Robert M. White, for whom Jesse Ausubel worked at the National Academy  of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering during 1977-1979 and 1983-1988 passed away at age 92.  To quote our mutual friend John S. Perry,  “Bob leaves a host of monuments behind – in science, in government, in the family of nations, and above all in the hearts of all who knew him. He remains in my mind as a model of wisdom, dedication, consummate skills, and adamant integrity. He built in life an ever-expanding tribe of all who had the privilege of working with him.”  The Washington Post ran a good remembrance.

The New York Times also runs an obituary: Robert M. White, Meteorologist Who Revolutionized Weather Forecasts, Dies at 92

And we note a good piece on Bob on the website of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, near Vienna, which he helped several times: Robert M. White 1923-2015

For Bob’s own recollections of his career, enjoy this wonderful interview.

Enjoy also this video about NOAA’s founding: https://youtu.be/xw_pBJwn7c4

Human effect on natural light

Human additions of sound and light continue to interest us as aspects of global change, as we wrote in  JH Ausubel. Broadening the scope of global change to include illumination and noise . SEED Magazine 23 Nov: 2009.  We draw attention to Oecologia. 2014; 176(4): 917–931, PMCID: PMC4226844 Human alteration of natural light cycles: causes and ecological consequences by Kevin J. Gaston, James P. Duffy, Sian Gaston, Jonathan Bennie, and Thomas W. Davies.

Hurford Initiative on Science & DIplomacy

Rockefeller University graduate students Avital Percher and Devon Collins wrote a short essay about the 2015 short course and field trip as part of the Hurford Initiative on Science & Diplomacy that Jesse helps guide with Mande Holford and Rod Nichols.   Another great group of students and post-docs!

Michelson Lecture at Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy has invited Jesse Ausubel to deliver the Michelson Lecture 15 October 2015 in Annapolis on Ocean Past, Ocean Future. We are honored by the invitation from the Academy and the roster of prior lecturers.

 

RFF Seminar on Breakthrough decoupling report

Resources For the Future (RFF) has posted the video (and audio) of the seminar Weds 9 Sept 2015 where Jesse Ausubel commented on the release of Breakthrough Institute’s Nature Unbound: Decoupling for Conservation.  Jesse’s remarks begin at 29′ 15″ and run 8 minutes (scroll down to the video box & use slider).  The video begins with Linus Blomqvist’s introduction of the report and ends with Q&A involving Linus, Jesse, and Tom Lovejoy.

https://www.rff.org/events/event/2015-09/reforming-today-s-conservation-and-environmental-policies-tomorrow-s-scarcity