Roland (Rol) Madden, an American meteorologist who was a staff scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) from 1967 to 2002. His research centers on diagnostic studies of the atmosphere. 

Scope and Content Note

George S. Benton was born on September 24, 1917, in Oak Park, Illinois, and was raised in Chicago. His family had a diverse background, with his mother's family originating from Edinburgh, Scotland, and his father's family immigrating from Rega to Michigan when his father was three years old. Benton's original family name was Blumenstock, but he later changed it to George Benton. Benton's early education was at the University of California at Berkeley, where he was involved with the Department of Geography. However, he did not complete his Bachelor's degree there.

William Mankin begins by speaking about the origin of his “Physics of a Cup of Coffee” seminar and his relationship with Jack Herring of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, New York. After graduating from Southwestern (now called Rhodes College), Mankin received a scholarship to attend the Summer Institute in Space Physics offered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where he learned about radiative transfer.

Topics covered include Braham's early life and education; the war years when he was a meteorologist and pilot doing weather reconnaissance; his interest in weather modification; the Thunderstorm Project; the Lewis Douglas Joint Institute with the University of Arizona; Project White Top under the University of Chicago; work on the "Blue Book" with Tom Malone and Bill Von Arx; and the early ideas about NCAR.

Ed Martell was a distinguished nuclear scientist with a focus on atmospheric chemistry, radioactive material, and nuclear science in general. His academic journey began at West Point, where he graduated in the class of 1942. Following his graduation, Martell served as an officer in the Corps of Engineers for eight years, participating in combat in the Pacific during the Second World War. After the war, Martell had the opportunity to further his studies at the University of Chicago as a lieutenant colonel. It was here that he earned his Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry in 1950.

Timothy Brown reminisces about his early fascination with astronomy, building telescopes and an observatory as a child with his father. Brown talks about his undergraduate school experience at Wesleyan University, a small liberal arts school in Middletown, Connecticut, and his work with the physicists on campus, specifically his mentor Jim Faller. Brown did his graduate studies at the University of Colorado, but completed most of his work in Tucson, working for a professor from the University of Arizona as an HAO (High Altitude Observatory) graduate student.

Nelder Medrud begins the interview with a discussion of his life history, education and research prior to arriving at NCAR. Medrud became acquainted with NCAR through Phil Thompson and Henry van de Boogaard while at the University of Stockholm, Sweden in the early 1960s. In the Air Force, Medrud’s specialty was applied climatology and a position opened up at NCAR focusing on applications to societal problems. The immediate focus of Medrud’s work at NCAR was on the matter of the consequences of hail to society.

Oral History Interview with Horace Byers, 1987.  Interviewed by Earl Droessler. 

Copyright Information: Copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Oral history interview with Rene Munoz, 2004. Interviewed by Stuart Leslie. Topics include: Tour of the Mesa Lab and Mesa Lab’s construction; experiments done at NCAR; bush hammering; Damon room; Margaret Thatcher visit; supercomputing.