Dr. Joanne Simpson was a pioneering atmospheric scientist who became the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology in 1949 from the University of Chicago. Born Joanne Gerould on March 23, 1923 in Boston, Massachusetts, she established an extraordinary career while working at prestigious institutions including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of California Los Angeles, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Her academic journey began at the University of Chicago where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1943 and her graduate degrees under the guidance of Herbert Riehl. Simpson's groundbreaking research in tropical meteorology and her leadership positions throughout her career made her a trailblazer who broke significant gender barriers in atmospheric sciences.
Simpson's fundamental contributions to tropical meteorology revolutionized our understanding of cloud systems and tropical weather phenomena. Her early work involved flying over oceans in crude airplanes to observe how tropical cumulus clouds transported energy from the sea surface, which led to her theoretical work on cloud dilution processes. She pioneered the development of numerical cloud modeling techniques that became foundational to modern meteorological simulations and understanding of atmospheric dynamics. Simpson's greatest achievement was serving as project scientist for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite which placed the first meteorological radar into space and transformed our understanding of global rainfall patterns, energy distribution in tropical atmospheres, and climate dynamics.
Throughout her distinguished career, Simpson received numerous accolades including the prestigious Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal from the American Meteorological Society. She cultivated a renowned research environment at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center that developed into one of the world's most respected cloud modeling research centers. Simpson's work continues to influence meteorological research, satellite observation techniques, and climate modeling approaches worldwide. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite she championed still orbits the tropical latitudes today, providing critical data for climate studies and serving as a lasting testament to her scientific legacy.
