Noboru Nakamura Associate Professor, Department of the Geophysical Sciences and the College Department of the Geophysical Sciences 5734 S. Ellis Ave. HGS 589 Chicago, IL 60637 USA Phone: 773/702-3802 E-mail: nnn@bethel.uchicago.edu Publications

Understanding the mechanics of the atmosphere is the theme of my research. I say "understanding" not in the sense of being able to make perfect predictions (or retrodictions) of the observable atmospheric states, but more in the sense of one's ability to logically construct the causality of a phenomenon and rigorously test the hypothesis. As such, I value mathematical models of varying sophistication as tools of query. Current effort includes diagnosing transport and mixing processes in the stratosphere, and investigating roles of large-scale storm systems in the mid-latitude general circulation. Each of these areas encompasses theoretical, numerical and observational ends, and thus presents a fertile research ground.

The available facilities include an IBM RS/6000 workstation and a Power Macintosh for the numerical tasks and Macintosh-based visualization hardware for the rendering of graphics. A hierarchy of numerical models of the atmosphere are in working condition. A subset of history files of high-resolution troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere GCM (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory "SKYHI" GCM) over a one-year period is available on an 11-tape stacker for multipurpose analyses. Some subsets of Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) constituents data are also ready for diagnosis.

Idealized life-cycle simulation of unstable baroclinic waves. Horizontal plots of surface potential temperature.

Education:

• Ph.D., Princeton University, 1989