This week, two highly acclaimed Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Research Professors – groundbreaking work has enabled our understanding of polar ice sheets and global hydrogenated climates, as well as other discoveries to enhance the honor of our prestigious new appointment in Lamont.
Robin Bell Has been named Marie Tharp Lamont Research Professor and Richard Sieger Has been appointed as Ewing Lamont Research Professor.
Bell joined Lamont in 1982 as a graduate student. Today, she is a global leader in using airborne and satellite technologies to study the Earth’s large ice sheets with the goal of helping coastal communities adapt to the rise of sea levels. She is also firmly committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the earth sciences and has been advocating for women’s development in the field of science, including establishing visiting scholarships for scientists named by Marie Tharp.
She was the first woman to chair the National Academy of Sciences’ Polar Research Committee, where she developed the framework for the International Year of Polarity to enhance ice sheet stability to a global issue. Bell is a fellow and former president of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In 2022, she received the Fulbright Australian Outstanding Chair in Tasmania and arrived on a 12-meter sailing boat for two. After Fulbright, she and her husband Karl Coplan completed a global event, sharing a copy of Marie Tharp’s undersea map
She was appointed to the Marie Tharp chair especially suited. Tharp is a Lamont geologist with more than 30 years of history and has been engaged in groundbreaking work that has revolutionized how we understand the sea surface and how it is formed. While banned from joining oceanographic expeditions, Salp created the first depth-sounding map of the world’s oceans, including the iconic World Haiti. The map was published in 1977 and is distributed by the National Geographic. Her work reveals the global scope of the Zhongshan ridge system and the rift valley along its peak, supporting evidence of subsea communication theory.
Seager, who also began his graduate career at Lamont in the 1980s, studied how the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean drives climate change and change around the world over a timeframe between days and thousands of years. Recently, he has focused on the impact of climate on ecosystems, water resources, agriculture and society, including immigration and conflict. His work increasingly involves interdisciplinary collaborations with health scientists, agronomists, economists and geographers to address complex global challenges.
Seager is a fellow member of the AGU and the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He was awarded the AMS Jule G. Charney Medal for his “significant and innovative contributions to past drought and flood attributions and understanding the impact of rising greenhouse gases on future hydrogen carbonization climates.” Just a few weeks ago, Seager also won the Lamont Mentorship Award.
Ewing Chair, Maurice Ewing, founder of the Observatory, is a groundbreaking geophysicist and oceanographer – the highest difference to the Lamont Research Professor. The appointed person is an internationally renowned scientist recognized with outstanding Earth Science scholarship and leadership skills. Seager joined Ewing Lamont research professor Bob Anderson and Ed Cook to accept the difference. “I’m honored to get this difference because Lamont has contributed more to figuring out how the planet works than other institutions, and I’m grateful for it, it has supported my own career for 40 years,” Seager said. “Figuring out how we live on this dynamic, ever-changing planet is becoming increasingly important, and with its strength and depth, Lamont will surely play a central role in the path forward.”
“Lamont’s 75-year intellectual pursuit is a large part of our modern society today,” Bell said. “Tharp and Ewing, together with the early lamonters community, conducted observations and advanced ideas, are now often taught in schools. While there are some storms in the current era, I look forward to Lamont’s continued discovery and innovative future to support human life on this planet.”
