Venkatachalam Ramaswamy has been named director of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. GFDL develops climate prediction models and conducts climate research. Ramaswamy, right, who has been acting director of the laboratory since January, 2007, is a NOAA scientist whose work has focused on natural and human influences on climate.
“Throughout his career, Ram has advanced our knowledge of the climate system,” Richard W. Spinrad, NOAA assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research, said in making the appointment. “As our need for the best climate data grows, we will continue to turn to GFDL for much of that information. Ram’s leadership will guide the laboratory’s direction as new and challenging questions arise.”
Ramaswamy joined the GFDL research staff in 1987 and has served as a senior scientist, group leader of the Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry division, and manager of NOAA’s Climate Research and Modeling Program.
He has authored or co-authored more than 130 peer-reviewed papers and contributed to numerous national and international scientific assessments, including all of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments since 1992.
Ramaswamy, a Lawrenceville resident, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Delhi, India. He earned his Ph.D from State University of New York at Albany.
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, 201 Princeton Forrestal Campus, Box 308, Princeton 08542-0308; 609-452-6500; fax, 609-987-5063. Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, director. Home page: www.gfdl.noaa.gov.
