Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2004
Field of Research: Atmospheric Chemistry
Date: 08 November 2004
Place of Ceremony: Amphithéâtres de l’Europe
Host Institution: University of Liège
Host Country: Liège, Belgium
Liege, Belgium. November 2004. The World Cultural Council presented the 2004 Albert Einstein World Award of Science to Prof. Ralph J. Cicerone, Professor, Department of Earth System Science, and Chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. The Award Ceremony took place in Liège, Belgium with the host of the University of Liège, on November 8th 2004.
The Albert Einstein World Award of Science has been established as a means of recognition and as an incentive to scientific and technological research and development. It takes into special consideration research that has brought true benefit and wellbeing to humankind.
This recognition made by the members of the Interdisciplinary Committee of the World Cultural Council to Prof. Cicerone for his valuable and pioneering contributions to atmospheric chemistry, which demonstrate the critical importance of basic science in helping to understand the health of the planet and how to plan for its future..
Prof. Ralph J. Cicerone has made independent contributions to the research areas of atmospheric chemistry, with emphasis on the relationship of trace gases to stratospheric ozone depletion.
His research has helped us to understand the biogeochemical cycling of trace gases through the atmosphere, focusing on studies of ozone depletion and increasing greenhouse gases such as methane.
Prof. Cicerone was a lead scientist in developing the field of biogeochemistry at a time when most scientists involved in atmospheric chemistry were not interested in the biosphere. Beyond his scientific accomplishments, Ralph Cicerone has been a leader in the broad community of atmospheric chemistry, earth environment, biogeochemistry, and global change.
Prof. Cicerone was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA in 1943. He received his B.S in Electrical Engineering at the MIT in 1965; his M.S. (Electrical Eingineering) at the University of Illinois in 1967 and his Ph.D. (Electrical Engineering & Minor in Physics) at the University of Illinois in 1970. He joined the University of California Irvine in 1989, and founded the new Department of Earth System Science. He served as Dean of the School of Physical Sciences and became Chancellor of the University in 1998. He has received the United Nations Environmental Program Ozone Award; the Brower Award and Prize for Scientific Achievement and the Revelle Medal, among others. He is member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
