Joseph W. Chamberlain
Joseph W. Chamberlain | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Wyan Chamberlain August 24, 1928 Boonville, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | April 14, 2004 (aged 75) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri; University of Michigan |
| Known for | Kinetic theory of planetary exospheres; Physics of the Aurora and Airglow; Theory of Planetary Atmospheres |
| Awards | Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy (1961) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Atmospheric physics, aeronomy, planetary science |
| Institutions | Air Force Cambridge Research Center; Yerkes Observatory; University of Chicago; Kitt Peak National Observatory; NASA Lunar Science Institute; Rice University |
| Doctoral advisor | Lawrence H. Aller |
Joseph Wyan Chamberlain (August 24, 1928 – April 14, 2004) was an American atmospheric scientist and astronomer whose work shaped modern studies of the upper atmosphere and planetary aeronomy. He developed a kinetic description of the collisionless exosphere that is widely used to model atmospheric escape. He wrote the monograph Physics of the Aurora and Airglow in 1961, described by colleagues as a "classic book," and later the graduate text Theory of Planetary Atmospheres with Donald M. Hunten. He received the American Astronomical Society's Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy in 1961 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1965.
Chamberlain died at home in Tucson, Arizona, on April 14, 2004, at 75.