From TAMEX to COSMIC: Rick’s Contribution to International Science Collaboration (Invited Presentation)

In addition to his many scientific contributions, particularly in the areas of tropical cyclones, mesoscale numerical weather prediction and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) atmospheric remote sensing, Rick Anthes has been a strong supporter for international collaboration. Because of his excellent diplomatic and inter-personal skills and his genuine desire to help the atmospheric science community of other countries, Rick has developed trusting personal relationship with key scientific leaders in several foreign countries, including China, Taiwan, Kenya, South Korea, and Cuba. As a result, he was able to successfully develop international collaborative projects that opened up new opportunities and had a profound impact on the international science community. An excellent example was Rick’s contributions to the Taiwan-U.S. collaboration. Rick first visited Taiwan in 1982. Since that trip he developed a long-lasting friendship with key scientific leaders in Taiwan, including Ching-Yen Tsay, George Chen and Chao-Han Liu. Later, they worked together to initiate the Taiwan Area Mesoscale Experiment (TAMEX) in 1985, which was the first East Asia mesoscale field experiment that used modern research aircraft and Doppler radar to study convective systems associated with the Mei-Yu front. The TAMEX project led to the modernization of Taiwan’s observing systems, including the establishment of an around-the-island Doppler radar network. In early 1990’s, Rick and Tsay jointly established the AOAWS (Advanced Operational Aviation Weather System) project, which led to the development of high-resolution regional NWP based on the MM5/WRF system, which is still in use today to support Taiwan’s operational forecasting. In 1997, Rick, Tsay, Liu, and other senior leaders in Taiwan initiated the collaboration of COSMIC, a $100M mission, which was the world’s first GPS radio occultation satellite constellation. COSMIC was launched in 2006, and has had a huge impact on weather, climate and space weather research and operations.

I joined Penn State University at the end of 1979 as Rick’s student. Later, I went with him to NCAR in 1981. I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work with Rick for nearly 40 years. Needless to say, Rick has a profound influence on my entire career. I had the opportunity to participate with Rick in his Taiwan-U.S. collaborations, including COSMIC. In this paper I will summarize Rick’s collaborative efforts with Taiwan. I will then discuss the impact of GPS RO data from COSMIC on tropical cyclone predictions. This work would not have been possible without the foundational work that Rick did on tropical cyclone, mesoscale modeling, GNSS atmospheric remote sensing, and his effort on Taiwan-U.S. collaboration that all started with his visit to Taiwan in 1982.