Robert F. Cahalan (born November 24, 1946) is an Emeritus Scientist at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

. He was the Chief of the Laboratory for Climate and Radiation from 2003 to 2013, a Project Scientist of the

Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) was a 2003–2020 NASA-sponsored satellite mission that measured incoming X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. These measurements specifically addressed lon ...

and the President of the International Radiation Commission of the

International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences The International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS) is a non-governmental organization promoting atmospheric sciences through conferences, workshops and publications. IAMAS and its commissions bring together experts fro ...

(a member of the

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG; , UGGI) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the scientific study of Earth and its space environment using geophysical and geodetic techniques. The IUGG is a me ...

) from 2008 to 2012. His interests include climate change, energy balance, remote sensing, and solar radiation.

Biography

Cahalan grew up in

Miamisburg, Ohio Miamisburg ( ) is a city in southern Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 19,923 at the 2020 census. A suburb of Dayton, it is part of the Dayton metropolitan area. Named after the Miami people, Miamisburg is known for its ...

and

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and received his master's degree and Doctorate in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1969 and 1973. After a two-year post-doc at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, and a third year as Visiting Professor there, he became a senior post-doc at the

National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...

after which he joined

as a civil servant. There he spent 1979–present, retiring from civil service in 2015 to become Emeritus Scientist. In 2015 he also joined the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (or simply Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL) is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center (UARC) in Howard County, Maryland. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University ...

as a Senior Scientist. In 2003-2006 he was the founding chair of the Observations Working Group of the

U.S. Global Change Research Program The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. The program began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was codified b ...

(USGCRP) reported on the status of Earth Observations in an annual report to the US Congress and assisted in coordinating the

National Climate Assessment The National Climate Assessment (NCA) is an initiative within the U.S. federal government focused on climate change science, formed under the auspices of the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Background The NCA is a major product of the U. ...

. Cahalan received the 2006

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, a ...

, the 2006

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

medal for "Outstanding Leadership and Service," and in 2009 was elected a 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 Fellows
/ref> Cahalan now lives in

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental ...

with his wife Margaret Cahalan, whom he married in 1968. He has two sons, Joel and Gabriel. In 2005, Cahalan and his wife founded CHEARS, the Chesapeake Education, Arts, and Research Society, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting ecological stewardship and artistic expression in the

Chesapeake Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

area.

References

External links

SORCE - Solar Radiation and Climate ExperimentChesapeake Education, Arts, and Research SocietyRobert Cahalan NASA Bio
1946 births Living people People from Miamisburg, Ohio American climatologists Grainger College of Engineering alumni National Center for Atmospheric Research faculty Fellows of the American Meteorological Society {{climate-bio-stub