Marcia Baker is a retired professor known for her research on cloud physics which informs global climate models and defines the processes leading to the formation of lightning from clouds. She is the mother of Nobel laureate David Baker.

Education and career

Baker graduated in 1955 from Urbana High School in Illinois. She earned a scholarship on the basis of "scholastic achievement and promise of effective participation and leadership" to attend

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

from which she earned a B.S. in 1959. She earned an M.S. from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1960 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1971 from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. She remained at the University of Washington following her Ph.D., initially as a research associate. She was promoted to professor of geophysics and atmospheric sciences in 1988. She retired in 2004

Research

Baker's research on cloud physics informs climate change models. Her early research examined how atmospheric particles absorb energy and the formation of droplets within

cumulus cloud Cumulus clouds are clouds that have flat cloud base, bases and are often described as puffy, cotton-like, or fluffy in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin , meaning "heap" or "pile". Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, generally less ...

s. Her modeling of turbulent mixing within clouds and the connections between cloud thickness and precipitation play a role in modeling of global climate. She has also used a combination of modeling and satellite observations to establish the processes that lead to the formation of

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

Selected publications

* * * * *

Awards and honors

* Fellow,

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

* Fellow,

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 ...

* Fellow,

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Marcia Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Fellows of the American Meteorological Society Cornell University alumni Stanford University alumni University of Washington alumni University of Washington faculty American atmospheric scientists 1938 births Living people