Timothy Liu, project scientist on NASA's SeaWinds ocean winds-observing mission, has been named a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Liu, a specialist in ocean and atmospheric interactions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., leads an international team of scientists monitoring wind speed and direction over Earth's oceans to better understand and predict weather, climate and environmental changes. Launched on June 19, 1999, SeaWinds has provided next-generation technology to assist the scientific community and weather agencies in improving weather forecasting and tracking global climate phenomena, such as El Ninos and La Ninas.
Liu has been a senior research scientist at JPL since 1993. In parallel with his position as SeaWinds project scientist, he also leads JPL's air-sea interaction and climate team, made up of meteorologists and oceanographers.
Liu was a principal investigator from 1992-97 on the NASA Scatterometer mission, and serves as a principal investigator on the joint U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon ocean topography mission. He also works on the NASA Earth-Observing System series of missions and on the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Tropical Rain Measurement Mission.
Liu is the recipient of many NASA honors, including the 1990 NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement for his pioneering work in estimating ocean evaporation using space-based data, and the 1998 NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for his leadership in NASA Scatterometer mission science research.
As a fellow of the American Meteorological Society, Liu works with a scientific organization serving more than 11,000 scientists nationwide.
Prior to joining JPL in 1979, Liu received his Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington in 1978. He earned his master's degree in atmospheric sciences from the same institution in 1974, and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in physics from Ohio University, Athens.
Liu lives in Arcadia, Calif., with his wife, Chialing, and daughter Ann.
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