Robert D. Cess Memorial Scholarship
The Robert D. Cess Memorial Scholarship Fund will provide support for undergraduate students in the School of Marine and Atmospheric
Sciences ("SoMAS"). Students who are eligible to apply for and receive scholarships
from this Fund must meet the following criteria:
- Be enrolled full-time as a undergraduate student in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences as defined by Stony Brook policy.
- Demonstrate high academic achievement as defined by Stony Brook policy.
- Preference given to students who demonstrate financial need as determined by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services based upon completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Background
Robert D. Cess was a distinguished professor emeritus at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) who had an impressive career spanning nearly 50 years at Stony Brook University. Cess was a founder of atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook. He began as a faculty member in mechanical engineering in 1961 with a specialization in radiative transfer, and from the 1970s to 1990s, he published several influential papers on the greenhouse effect and related feedback effects in the earth’s atmosphere.
His personality and energy helped attract an increasing number of talented atmospheric scientists to work with him in mechanical engineering, including Sultan Hameed and Minghua Zhang, distinguished professor and former dean and provost, who was Cess’ post-doc student.
Cess’ research concentrated on two areas: theoretical and modeling studies of climate feedback mechanisms that can either amplify or diminish global climate change, and the acquisition and interpretation of both surface and satellite radiometric data. A quantitative understanding of climate feedback mechanisms is a prerequisite to being able to project climate change caused by anthropogenic factors such as increasing greenhouse gases. The second research area augments the first and concerns the acquisition and interpretation of both surface and satellite radiometric data.
Cess was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and worked with the National Science Foundation on understanding greenhouse warming and its associated policy implications. Cess was involved with NASA’s Earth Radiation Budget Experiment; its subsequent Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, which is part of the Earth Observing System; and the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurements Program. These observational programs aim to obtain a better understanding of how clouds impact the present climate so as to improve our capability of predicting how clouds impact climate change.
Cess won numerous awards, including NASA’s highest scientific honor, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1989. In 2006, he received the Jule G. Charney Award from the American Meteorological Society, presented to scientists in recognition of significant research in the atmospheric or hydrologic sciences, “for his outstanding contributions to our understanding of the science of atmospheric radiation and climate change and the role of clouds in climate models.”
Each spring, SoMAS hosts the Bob Cess Symposium, featuring a climate-related lecture given by a distinguished scientist who was influenced by Cess.
Ways to Give
Online donations using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover can be processed through the Stony Brook Foundation.
Donations may also be made by check or money order payable to “Stony Brook Foundation”, with the notation “For Robert D. Cess Memorial Scholarship Fund” in the memo field, mailed to:
Robert D. Cess Memorial Scholarship Fund
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook NY 11794-5000
Tel: 631-632-8009