Isztar Zawadzki (February 9, 1939 - February 11, 2023) was a Canadian meteorologist, born in Poland and raised in Argentina. Professor at the

McGill Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences of McGill University is the largest university atmospheric-oceanic sciences group in Canada. In 2012, it has 11 Faculty and 6 Associate Faculty members, 5 support staff, 14 research associates and ...

department in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, he specialized in

radar meteorology A weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...

, a field where he has made important contributions.

Biography

Zawadzki was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland on February 9, 1939, just before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Fleeing

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and war, his mother took refuge with him in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, then in Argentina. It was in this country that he received a degree in physics from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

in 1963. He then specialized in radar meteorology by completing a master's degree (M.Sc. 1968) and a doctorate (PhD. 1972) at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montreal. After his studies, he was first a professor at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

(UQÀM) during the 1970s where he became director of studies in atmospheric sciences from 1971 to 1982, then director of the physics department. from 1988 to 1992. He then became a professor at McGill University until the end of the 2000s. At this university, he served as the director of the J. S. Marshall Radar Observatory, where he supervised several students who published important papers. Zawadzki retired in 2010 but continued to serve as professor emeritus.. He specializes in weather radar, cloud physics and nowcasting. He died at age 84 on February 11, 2023, after suffering a second

cerebrovascular accident Stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop ...

(CVA).

Awards and Honors

Isztar Zawadzki is the author or co-author of more than 117 articles covering a wide range of applications of

weather radar A weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern w ...

data and

cloud physics Cloud physics is the study of the physical processes that lead to the formation, growth and precipitation of atmospheric clouds. These aerosols are found in the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere, which collectively make up the greatest p ...

, including improving understanding of the formation processes and distribution of precipitation during winter and summer such as the growth of drops, icing of snowflakes, etc... At the national and international level, Zawadzki was director of the Cooperative Research Center in Mesometeorology (McGill-UQAM-MSC) and senior scientist of the Canadian Meteorological Research Program (

Environment and Climate Change Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; )Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment (). is the department of the Government of Canada res ...

). Doctor Zawadzki received: *1991,

Patterson Medal The Patterson Distinguished Service Medal is awarded by the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) to residents of Canada for services rendered to meteorology. The award was created in honor of Mr. John Patterson (meteorologist), John Patterson, a ...

for outstanding contribution to meteorology in Canada, *1998 Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society President's Award, *2001, ''Fellow'' of the

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS; ) is the national society of individuals and organisations dedicated to advancing atmospheric and oceanic sciences and related environmental disciplines in Canada. CMOS was officially cr ...

, *2004, ''Fellow'' of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

(AMS), *2007, Remote Sensing Prize of the AMS, *2007, member of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zawadzki, Isztar 1939 births 2023 deaths University of Buenos Aires alumni McGill University alumni Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Academic staff of McGill University Canadian meteorologists Argentine meteorologists Weather radar pioneers Quebec meteorologists