Robert Simpson (meteorologist)
| Robert H. Simpson | |
|---|---|
Simpson on left
|
|
| Born |
November 19, 1912 Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Died |
December 18, 2014 (aged 102) Washington, D.C. |
| Fields | Meteorology |
| Institutions | Director of the National Hurricane Research Project Director of the National Hurricane Center |
| Education |
Southwestern University (B.S., 1933) Emory University (M.S., 1935) University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1962) |
| Theses |
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| Doctoral advisor | Herbert Riehl |
| Other academic advisors | W. S. Nelms |
| Known for | Tropical cyclone research, Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, NHC director |
| Notable awards | Department of Commerce Gold Medal, Cleveland Abbe Award |
| Spouse | Joanne Simpson |
Robert Homer Simpson (November 19, 1912 – December 18, 2014) was an American meteorologist, hurricane specialist, first director of the National Hurricane Research Project (NHRP) from 1955–1959, and a former director (1967–1974) of the National Hurricane Center (NHC). He was the co-developer of the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale with Herbert Saffir. His wife was Joanne Simpson.
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Robert Simpson survived the devastating landfall of a hurricane at age six; one of his family members drowned. Simpson graduated with honors from the Corpus Christi high school in 1929. Fascinated by the weather, he went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Southwestern University in 1933, and a Master of Science degree in physics from Emory University in 1935. Finding no work as a physicist during the Great Depression, he taught music in Texas high schools.
On April 16, 1940, he was hired by the United States Weather Bureau. First assigned as a junior observer of meteorology at Brownsville, Texas, he was then temporarily assigned to Swan Island. After the Pearl Harbor attack, he was promoted to forecaster at the New Orleans office. As part of a United States Weather Bureau scholarship, he did graduate work at the University of Chicago in 1943 and 1944. After a stint as a hurricane forecaster in Miami under Grady Norton, he was assigned to help create the Army Air Force weather school in Panama. There he had his first flight into a tropical cyclone. After the war, he persuaded Air Force Hurricane Hunters to allow him to fly along on what he called 'piggy back missions', where he would take scientific observations using the primitive instruments.
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