Wikipedia

Marcia Baker

Marcia Baker is a retired professor known for her research on cloud physics which informs global climate models and defines the processes leading to the formation of lightning from clouds. She is the mother of Nobel laureate David Baker.

Marcia Bourgin Baker
Born
Marcia Bourgin

1938
Alma materUniversity of Washington
ChildrenDavid Baker
Scientific career
ThesisIon transport through nerve membranes (1971)

Education and career

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Baker graduated in 1955 from Urbana High School in Illinois.[1][2] She earned a scholarship on the basis of "scholastic achievement and promise of effective participation and leadership" to attend Cornell University from which she earned a B.S. in 1959.[3] She earned an M.S. from Stanford University in 1960[3] and a Ph.D. in physics in 1971 from the University of Washington.[4] She remained at the University of Washington following her Ph.D., initially as a research associate.[3] She was promoted to professor of geophysics and atmospheric sciences in 1988. She retired in 2004[5]

Research

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Baker's research on cloud physics informs climate change models.[6] Her early research examined how atmospheric particles absorb energy[7] and the formation of droplets within cumulus clouds.[8] Her modeling of turbulent mixing within clouds[9][10] and the connections between cloud thickness and precipitation[11][12] play a role in modeling of global climate. She has also used a combination of modeling and satellite observations to establish the processes that lead to the formation of lightning.[13][14]

Selected publications

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  • Baker, Marcia B.; Charlson, Robert J. (1990). "Bistability of CCN concentrations and thermodynamics in the cloud-topped boundary layer". Nature. 345 (6271): 142–145. Bibcode:1990Natur.345..142B. doi:10.1038/345142a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 34623897.
  • Pincus, Robert; Baker, Marcia B. (1994). "Effect of precipitation on the albedo susceptibility of clouds in the marine boundary layer". Nature. 372 (6503): 250–252. Bibcode:1994Natur.372..250P. doi:10.1038/372250a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4356466.
  • Baker, M. B. (16 May 1997). "Cloud Microphysics and Climate". Science. 276 (5315): 1072–1078. doi:10.1126/science.276.5315.1072.
  • Roe, Gerard H.; Baker, Marcia B. (2007-10-26). "Why Is Climate Sensitivity So Unpredictable?". Science. 318 (5850): 629–632. Bibcode:2007Sci...318..629R. doi:10.1126/science.1144735. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17962560. S2CID 7325301.
  • Baker, Marcia B.; Peter, Thomas (2008). "Small-scale cloud processes and climate". Nature. 451 (7176): 299–300. Bibcode:2008Natur.451..299B. doi:10.1038/nature06594. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 18202649.

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "Uni Graduating Classes 1951-1960 | University of Illinois Laboratory High School". www.uni.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  2. ^ "Urbana High Girl Gets Scholarship". idnc.library.illinois.edu. June 27, 1955. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  3. ^ a b c d Chen, Deliang (March 2004). "International evaluation of meteorology". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Baker, Marcia Bourgin (1971). Ion transport through nerve membranes (Thesis). OCLC 19767248.
  5. ^ a b "Atmospheric Circulation - newsletter of the University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences Department" (PDF). Fall 2005.
  6. ^ "Like It Or Not, Uncertainty And Climate Change Go Hand-in-hand". ScienceDaily. October 27, 2007. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  7. ^ Baker, M.B. (1976-01-01). "Energy absorption by volatile atmospheric aerosol particles". Atmospheric Environment. 10 (3): 241–248. doi:10.1016/0004-6981(76)90097-4. ISSN 0004-6981.
  8. ^ Baker, M. B.; Latham, J. (1979-08-01). "The Evolution of Droplet Spectra and the Rate of Production of Embryonic Raindrops in Small Cumulus Clouds". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 36 (8): 1612–1615. Bibcode:1979JAtS...36.1612B. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1979)036<1612:TEODSA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-4928.
  9. ^ Baker, M. B.; Breidenthal, R. E.; Choularton, T. W.; Latham, J. (1984-01-15). "The Effects of Turbulent Mixing in Clouds". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 41 (2): 299–304. Bibcode:1984JAtS...41..299B. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1984)041<0299:TEOTMI>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-4928.
  10. ^ Baker, M. B.; Dash, J. G. (1994). "Mechanism of charge transfer between colliding ice particles in thunderstorms". Journal of Geophysical Research. 99 (D5): 10621. Bibcode:1994JGR....9910621B. doi:10.1029/93JD01633. ISSN 0148-0227.
  11. ^ Pincus, Robert; Baker, Marcia B. (1994). "Effect of precipitation on the albedo susceptibility of clouds in the marine boundary layer". Nature. 372 (6503): 250–252. Bibcode:1994Natur.372..250P. doi:10.1038/372250a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4356466.
  12. ^ Baker, M. B. (16 May 1997). "Cloud Microphysics and Climate". Science. 276 (5315): 1072–1078. doi:10.1126/science.276.5315.1072.
  13. ^ Baker, M.B; Blyth, A.M; Christian, H.J; Latham, J; Miller, K.L; Gadian, A.M (July 1999). "Relationships between lightning activity and various thundercloud parameters: satellite and modelling studies". Atmospheric Research. 51 (3–4): 221–236. Bibcode:1999AtmRe..51..221B. doi:10.1016/S0169-8095(99)00009-5.
  14. ^ Baker, Marcia B.; Christian, Hugh J.; Latham, John (October 1995). "A computational study of the relationships linking lightning frequency and other thundercloud parameters". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 121 (527): 1525–1548. doi:10.1256/smsqj.52702.
  15. ^ "Baker". Honors Program.
  16. ^ "List of Fellows". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
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