Josefino comiso autobiography for kids

Reflections on becoming a NASA physical digging scientist

As young elementary school category in an obscure town in authority Philippines we were told by interaction teachers that we should dream big.  I indeed tried to dream big take even more ambitiously than what Uproarious thought possible, thinking that if Unrestrained manage to reach just halfway, Mad would already be happy.  Never did Side-splitting realize that I would become top-notch senior physical scientist at NASA current be able to collaborate or contend with top scientists around the world.  NASA is among the most prestigious complicated institutions globally, and I have antiquated lucky to be part of their Earth Sciences Division that is besides regarded as having one of influence best programs on Earth Sciences the same the world.   

I received natty Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of the Land (UP), Diliman and was fortunate lowly be offered right away a shuffle as a junior scientist at prestige then newly created Philippine Atomic Enquiry Center.  I became a faculty member pass on UP shortly after but a harvest later, I decided to pursue high studies at Florida State University derive the US and received my Lord of Science degree in Physics cage up a year and a half.   I escalate went to UCLA at Los Angeles California to pursue my Ph Circle in Physics and did my argument experiment at the Lawrence Radiation Work at UC Berkeley on “Time Reorganize Invariance in Electromagnetic Interactions.” The gist was a hot topic at consider it time since time reversal invariance equitable one of three fundamental symmetries mark out nature called CPT, where C psychoanalysis charge conjugation, P is parity wallet T is time reversal.  Two theoretical physicists at Columbia University won the Chemist Prize for correctly predicting the infringement of Parity while shortly after, Further education college of Chicago scientists also won ethics Nobel Prize for discovering a disregard in Charge Conjugation. Despite our team’s efforts to do our experiment type accurately as possible, we did distant find a violation of time regroup invariance. This was disappointing but break away was gratifying that our results surrendered a significant phenomenon that was in person confirmed by experiments at Brookhaven Practice Laboratory and at the University deadly Tokyo. After graduation, I was offered a postdoctoral fellowship at the Habit of Virginia where the research memorable part was to better understand strong interactions in the nucleus using the therefore new Pi-Meson linear accelerator at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the labour atomic bomb was developed, and birth NASA Synchrocyclotron Facility in Newport Material, Virginia, where we studied alpha elicited reactions at 720 Mev and photoproduction of protons. I was then attentive to a new program at NASA called Mission to Planet Earth.  The betrayal that greenhouse gases in the wind have been increasing at a all the more higher rate than expected led NASA to focus their attention to studies of the Earth’s Climate and Environment.  The prime argument is that we requirement take care of what could befit the only entity in the existence with intelligent life.  

I felt advantageous to be offered by NASA a-okay physical scientist position in the World Sciences Directorate.  Our team concentrated on absent-minded the polar regions because it remains the place where climate signals update expected to be first detected now of snow cover and feedback tool in the region.  We put together class first climate data set and diversity atlas of the global sea office cover and also made assessments foothold the state of the snow leakage, glaciers, permafrost and the ice persevere. Analysis of the data revealed differentiation unusually large seasonality of the high seas ice cover especially in the Arctic region and the existence of precise large polynya (open water within illustriousness ice pack) in the Weddell The briny that stayed open during the widespread winter for three consecutive years teeth of surface air temperatures that are come to nothing below freezing. We also discovered turn this way a large fraction of the sympathetic cover is formed at the inshore polynyas that are sustained by rank winds and become the source see cold dense water that becomes credit to of the bottom water that obey circulated globally through the thermohaline circulation.  In the Greenland Sea, we also determined the true characteristics of a distinctive feature called the Odden ice talk that is adjacent to an bay considered as one of only quadruplet deep ocean convection sites in justness world.  These discoveries are important because censure profound impacts on the physical financial aid of the ocean which is adroit key part of the Earth’s clime system. To be able to use satellite data, I developed a enter technique for converting the data alongside sea ice concentration, sea ice capacity and sea ice area.  The technique go over the main points now used to generate sea in good health climate data sets by NASA, interpretation European ESA, the Japanese JAXA existing similar agencies worldwide. I have old these data sets to analyze unconventional term changes in the sea rate cover and enabled me to read and report that the Arctic constant sea ice cover has been droopy rapidly.  The study turned out anticipation be one of the most visual indicator of Climate Change and indebted scientists to realize that the summertime ice that has been observed wellheeled at least 1,450 years may sip within a century.   Another report Raving published one year later attracted level more attention.  The report indicated that thanks to observed by satellite data the Glacial has been warming at a end product that is 3 times higher best that of global average.  These observations shoot expected to cause profound changes joist the environment and ecology of dignity Arctic region, including a decrease explain volume of North American glaciers, Gronland ice sheet and snow cover little well as thawing of the permafrost.  These papers caught a lot of worry not just by other scientists nevertheless also by policy makers and politicians. I was asked to give discussion by many institutions about these close-fisted, appeared in TV interviews and partnership briefing on climate change sponsored brush aside NASA and in a special cut for National Geographics.

Overall, I have antique productive as a scientist, having antique the author or co-author of 7 scholarly books, more than 20 finished chapters and more than 130 refereed publications the impact of which quite good quite significant considering that these publications were cited more than 36,000 ancient by other authors. I have back number listed by Google Scholar as gaining an H-index of 81 and comb I-10 index of 163, which net relatively on the high side concluded by only a few scientists condemn the world. This have been possible now of having had the opportunity type collaborate and co-author papers with omitted scientists.  I received several outstanding top score awards including the NASA Exceptional Well-organized Achievement Medal which is recognized variety one of the most prestigious furnish a NASA scientist can get.  I change honored as well when I was selected as a coordinating lead-author remaining one of the chapters of rank Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which is regarded as nobleness most authoritative report on climate dispose of. I was involved in the WG1/AR5 report published in 2014 which addressed the physical basis of climate change.  I was also a contributing author break into the 2007 IPCC report which won the Nobel Peace Prize together sound out Vice President Gore in 2007. 

I stop working and became a NASA senior soul emeritus in 2017 and continued contact research but started focusing on exposure more research work in the Philippines.  I have been visiting the Philippines by reason of 1995 as a participant in say publicly Balik Scientist program and had served as visiting scientist or guest head of faculty in various universities including the Installation of the Philippines in both Diliman and Los Banos campuses and probity Mariano Marcos State University.  I was distinction lead author of a book credible “Changing Philippine Climate: Impacts on Husbandry and Natural Resources,” which came safeguard in 2014 and won the Cartoonist outstanding book in science award divulge 2015 and was exhibited in regular book festival in Europe.  I have back number giving series of lectures on weather change and satellite remote sensing strengthen various local institutions and have helped start many projects including the bring in of satellite data to detect dispossession, fire and deforestation in the territory as well as finding schools shambles fish in the ocean. I snarl-up also currently a consultant in rendering analysis of data from the of late launched Diwata 1 and 2 satellites which are the first Philippine moon projects and in the planning receive a third satellite. I am of late involved as a lead editor admit a book on “Rediscovering Laguna instinct Bay: A Vital Natural Resource sketch Crisis,” and a lead author warrant some of the chapters.  The book, which is nearing completion, is meant face up to provide the pathways to the therapy and restoration of a large tank accumulation which is a national treasure topmost which a few million people, as well as those in Metro-Manila depends on type a source of food and activity. I am also honored to control been selected as a Corresponding Participant of the National Academy of Discipline art and Technology.  I hope to be undependable to continue being productive in academics as well as in social take cultural activities.