Susan Solomon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Susan Solomon
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Solomon in 2018
|
|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Ozone Studies |
| Awards | National Medal of Science (1999) V. M. Goldschmidt Award (2006) William Bowie Medal (2007) Volvo Environment Prize (2009) Vetlesen Prize (2012) BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2012) Crafoord Prize (2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Atmospheric chemistry |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Susan Solomon is an American scientist who studies the Earth's atmosphere. She is known for her important work on the ozone layer and the ozone hole over Antarctica. For many years, she worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In 2011, Dr. Solomon became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she teaches about the chemistry of the atmosphere and climate science. She and her team were the first to explain how certain chemicals, called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were causing the ozone hole. Her work helped lead to international agreements that protect our planet.
Dr. Solomon is a member of several important science groups, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Discover magazine named her one of the 50 most important women in science in 2002. In 2008, Time magazine included her in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Contents
About Susan Solomon
Her Early Life and Education
Susan Solomon was born in Chicago, Illinois. When she was a child, she loved watching The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, which sparked her interest in science. In high school, she even won third place in a national science competition for a project about oxygen in gas mixtures.
She went to the Illinois Institute of Technology and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1977. Later, she continued her studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She received her master's degree in chemistry in 1979 and her Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry in 1981.
Her Personal Life
Susan Solomon married Barry Sidwell in 1988. She is Jewish.
Her Career and Research
Before joining MIT in 2011, Dr. Solomon led the Chemistry and Climate Processes Group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Her work there focused on understanding how chemicals affect our climate.
Books She Has Written
- The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition (2002): This book tells the story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's difficult trip to the Antarctic in 1912. Dr. Solomon used modern weather data to understand why Scott's team faced such challenges.
- Aeronomy of the Middle Atmosphere: Chemistry and Physics of the Stratosphere and Mesosphere (2005): This book explains the chemistry and physics of the middle part of Earth's atmosphere, from about 10 to 100 kilometers (6 to 62 miles) high.
Solving the Ozone Hole Mystery
Dr. Solomon and her team at NOAA helped figure out how the Antarctic ozone hole was forming. They suggested that chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were reacting on the surface of ice particles in the high-altitude clouds over Antarctica. This reaction was destroying the ozone.
In 1986 and 1987, Dr. Solomon led a special expedition to McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. Her team gathered important evidence that proved their idea was correct. She was the only woman leading this expedition. They found very high levels of chlorine oxide in the atmosphere, which came from CFCs broken down by ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Later, Dr. Solomon also showed that volcanoes could make the damage from CFCs even worse. Her research was very important for the U.N. Montreal Protocol. This is an international agreement that helps protect the ozone layer by controlling harmful chemicals. Dr. Solomon's work has shown that this agreement is helping the ozone layer heal.
For her big part in saving the ozone layer, Dr. Solomon received the 2021 Future of Life Award. Other scientists have praised her for explaining the ozone hole and for helping connect science with policy decisions for the Montreal Protocol.
Her Work with the IPCC
Dr. Solomon was also a key member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This group of scientists from around the world studies climate change. She helped write the Third Assessment Report and was a co-chair for Working Group I of the Fourth Assessment Report.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Susan Solomon has received many awards for her important scientific work:
- 1991 – Henry G. Houghton Award for her research in meteorology.
- 1994 – Solomon Saddle and Solomon Glacier in Antarctica were named in her honor.
- 1999 – National Medal of Science, given by the President of the United States.
- 2000 – Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal.
- 2004 – Blue Planet Prize.
- 2006 – Inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.
- 2007 – William Bowie Medal.
- 2007 – Shared the Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the IPCC, along with Al Gore.
- 2008 – Grande Médaille (Great Medal) of the French Academy of Sciences.
- 2008 – Became a Foreign Member of the Royal Society.
- 2009 – Volvo Environment Prize.
- 2009 – Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
- 2012 – Vetlesen Prize, which she shared with Jean Jouzel. She was the first woman to receive this award.
- 2013 – BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change.
- 2015 – Received an honorary doctorate from Brown University.
- 2018 – Crafoord Prize in Geosciences.
- 2021 – Appointed as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
- 2021 – 2021 Future of Life Award (Ozone Layer).
- 2023 – Received an honorary doctorate from Duke University.
- 2023 – Female Innovator Prize.
Images for kids
-
Solomon in 2018
-
Susan Solomon in 2010
Error: no page names specified (help).
In Spanish: Susan Solomon para niños
