Dr. David Halpern, a senior research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He was presented with a certificate and rosette pin at the society's annual meeting in Boston on February 16. Halpern was inducted in recognition of his "basic research in air-sea interactions in tropical oceans and for coordinating international efforts in measuring ocean surface quantities from satellites."
Founded in 1848, the American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest federation of scientists. The organization began honoring individuals with the fellow designation in 1874 to recognize contributions in all fields of science.
Halpern joined JPL in 1986 and is currently manager of the climate variability program. His research focuses on using satellite measurements to understand how the wind creates ocean currents and redistributes temperatures. His recent studies include El Nino, the intertropical convergence zone in the South Pacific and monsoons in the Arabian Sea. He is also chairman of the Committee on Space Research Scientific Commission on Space Studies of the Earth's Climate, an international organization that reports to the United Nations.
Halpern received his bachelor's degree, with honors, in geology and physics from McGill University, Montreal, and his doctorate in oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He has served as visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and is an adjunct professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and an honorary fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. His awards include the NASA Special Service Award and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.
JPL is a division of Caltech.