Ravi Ravishankara

ForMemRS FAAAS FRSC
Born
Akkihebbal Ramaiah Ravishankara

(1949-11-16) November 16, 1949 (age 74)
Shimoga, India
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Mysore (BSc, MSc)
University of Florida (PhD)
AwardsPolanyi Medal (1998)
Scientific career
FieldsAtmospheric chemistry
Air quality
Climate change
Ozone layer
Science policy[1]
InstitutionsNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Colorado State University
University of Maryland
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Colorado
ThesisThe Photolysis, Radiolysis and Mass Spectrometry of 1122-tetrafluorocyclobutane (1975)
Websitewww.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/staff/a.r.ravishankara/

Akkihebbal Ramaiah (Ravi) Ravishankara ForMemRS FAAAS FRSC[2] is a scientist specializing in Chemistry and Atmospheric Sciences, and University Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Atmospheric Sciences at Colorado State University, Fort Collins.[1][3]

He has been a leading researcher on the chemistry of the atmosphere with special focus on stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change, and air quality. His contributions have been significant in understanding ozone layer depletion, the role chemically active species play in climate change and the lifecycle of pollutants, specifically hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). He was part of the assessment steering committee (2006) of and co-chaired (2010 and 2014) the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Science Assessment Panel on Stratospheric Ozone.[4]

Education

Ravishankara was born in Shimoga, India in 1949.[5] He obtained his BSc and MSc degrees at the University of Mysore, and briefly researched at the Indian Institute of Science, before moving to the University of Florida at Gainesville where he received his PhD in 1975.

Career and research

Ravishankara's work included fundamental research on chemical processes and reaction rates in the gas-phase and surface chemistry of the atmosphere of Earth, resulting in better comprehension of ozone depletion, climate change and air pollutants.[6]

Ravishankara began his career in atmospheric research after obtaining his Doctorate. He has researched Ozone Layer Depletion at Georgia Institute of Technology and in Antarctica. He participated in efforts to find alternatives to CFCs after the passing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. His work on fully fluorinated greenhouse gases contributed to the Kyoto Protocol agreement in 1997 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Ravishankara has also researched extensively on HFCs, work that was part of the efforts leading to the passage of the Montreal Protocol’s 2016 Kigali Amendment, aimed at reducing the use of HFCs specifically.

In 2004, an NOAA team headed by Ravishankara, and two other independent teams, published a significant update of the rate coefficients for airborne chemical reactions. Earlier values were resulting in inaccurate measurement of, amongst other processes, atomic Oxygen reactions, created by the break-down of Ozone. Using laser flash photolysis, the groups studied the reaction kinetics of atomic oxygen with oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen molecules as well as greenhouse gases. Results indicated that the actual rate coefficient values were 20 percent higher than the estimates used by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and NASA at the time.[7]

Following research conducted by a team led by him, Ravishankara also drew attention in 2009 to the threat of nitrous oxide to the Ozone layer. In a paper published by the team in Science magazine, their research indicated a steady rise in nitrous oxide emissions by processes arising from human activity like agricultural fertilization and fossil fuel combustion.[8]

Ravishankara was senior scientist and then director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Chemical Sciences Division in Boulder, Colorado. He also served on the Physical Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize from 2017 to 2019.

Appointments held

His appointments held include:[5]

Awards and honors

His awards and honors include:[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Akkihebbal Ravishankara publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b Anon (2019). "Professor Akkihebbal Ravishankara". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 2019-04-23. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:

    “All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.” --Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-11-11)
  3. ^ "Biography on CSU Website". Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  4. ^ "Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA". Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  5. ^ a b c "Center for Oral History, Science History Institute". Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  6. ^ Advancing the Science of Climate Change. National Research Council (United States). 2010. doi:10.17226/12782. ISBN 978-0-309-14588-6. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  7. ^ "Joining forces to understand ozone". Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  8. ^ "Nitrous oxide fingered as monster ozone slayer". Retrieved 2019-04-20.
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