UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 1, Page 6
September 5, 1991
John R. Mather recipient of 1991 Alison Award

     Looking back over his many achievements and accomplishments as
a climatologist and geographer, John R. Mather said serendipity
played a large part in his career, although making the right
decisions when opportunities arose and taking some chances also
counted.
     Mather, Delaware state climatologist, professor and former
chairperson of the Department of Geography and director of the
University's Center for Climatic Research, was awarded the 1991
Francis Alison Award, which recognizes the scholarship,
professional achievements and dedication of an outstanding faculty
member. The $5,000 award was presented during New Student
Convocation on Sept. 4.
     Born in Boston, the son of a regular Army officer, Mather
moved around the Midwest and to Washington, D.C., returning to the
Boston area where he attended high school. Like most freshmen when
he enrolled at Williams College, from which he received a
bachelor's degree, he had not decided on a career choice.
     World War II interrupted his education at Williams. When he
enlisted in the Air Corps, he applied for and was given training as
a meteorologist at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and spent the next few years in Tennessee,
Mississippi and Arkansas. "Although our information was crude by
today's standards, depending on hourly teletype messages and
information from weather balloons, it was our job to analyze the
data we had and give pilots weather information about their routes
and destinations.
     "I thought I knew a lot about meteorology when I arrived in
Tennessee, but my commanding officer cut me down to size. He
pointed out a farmer and said, `See that man? He knows more about
weather than you ever will.' And he was right. Farmers in Delaware,
for instance, may not know the names of the different clouds, but
they can accurately predict what the weather will be for the next
12 hours," Mather said.
     While in Tennessee, Mather met and married his wife, Amy. When
he mustered out of the service, it was decision time. He was
offered a job in Tennessee but opted to take advantage of the G.I.
Bill and returned to M.I.T. where he received both bachelor's and
master's degrees in meteorology. While at M.I.T., he took a course
in geography at Harvard, his first in the subject.
     At this time, a book, entitled Wartime Developments in Applied
Climatology, was published that changed the course of his career.
When he read the book, he realized that climatology was the area
that attracted and interested him, rather than weather forecasting.
     Defining climatology in its simplest terms, Mather said it is
a study of what happens to the energy from the sun and what happens
to precipitation. The field of applied climatology, which is
Mather's area of specialization, utilizes this knowledge to solve
problems in agriculture, health issues, industry, human resources
and water resources.
     A dramatic example of the practical use of climatology was the
D-Day landings in Normandy, he said. Climatology was used to make
long-term predictions for the best times for the landings: when sea
swells would be minimal, when soil moisture would be low so that
tanks and equipment would not be mired, when there would be the
right amount of cloud cover and when there would be a stretch of
fair weather. Two dates were selected in early and mid-June. Then,
meteorology took over for the immediate weather predictions.
Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for the June 6 landings although the
weather conditions were not optimal.
     Mather enrolled as a doctoral student in Johns Hopkins'
geography/climatology program, working with Warren Thornthwaite,
who founded a laboratory of climatology. After receiving his
doctorate, he continued to conduct research at the laboratory in
New Jersey for the next decade. As Thornthwaite's reputation as a
world-renowned climatologist became established, Mather had contact
with scientists who visited the laboratory from all parts of the
globe.
     Now, Mather is paying his mentor the ultimate compliment by
becoming Thornthwaite's biographer.
     Mather also worked as a technical expert for the United
Nations World Meteorological Organization in the United States and
Yugoslavia where he spent a month, lecturing on hydrologic
forecasting to representatives from the Mediterranean countries.
     Although well-established in his chosen field, Mather was
offered the position of visiting lecturer when a geography
professor at the University of Delaware went on sabbatical in 1961.
He accepted, and his career took another turn.
     "I had been doing research for 13 years and felt somewhat
isolated. I knew I enjoyed teaching and the interaction with
students, and when this chance to teach came about, I took it."
     The temporary position at Delaware became permanent and Mather
was offered the job. However, Thornthwaite died, and Mather, as his
successor, had to take over the laboratory. For a time he held two
full-time jobs but gradually relinquished his responsibilities in
New Jersey.
     Meanwhile, changes were taking place at the University.
Geography was at that time linked with sociology and anthropology
in one department. The decision was made to make geography a
separate department and Mather became acting chairperson and then
the first chairperson, a position he maintained for 24 years.
     As he recalls, he decided to hire young, enthusiastic,
dedicated faculty who loved to teach. It took time to establish the
department's reputation, but Mather's confidence in his young
faculty paid off, and the Department of Geography has earned
national recognition.
     The University has the strongest program in climatology in the
country, Mather said, and is the only school offering a doctorate
in the subject. There are currently approximately 25 graduate
students enrolled in the program.
     Mather describes himself as a hydro-climatologist and, locally
in Delaware, has studied water resources in the state, focusing on
drought, stream run-off and the leaching of polluted water from
solid waste landfills into water tables. He also is studying the
possible hydrologic effects of long-term climate change in the
state if there is global warming.
     Throughout his career, Mather has received recognition for his
contributions to climatology and geography. He was elected as a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He currently holds leadership positions in two professional
organizations. He is president of the Association of American
Geographers, whose more than 6,000 members include nearly all
university geography faculty. In addition, he is councilor of the
American Geographical Society, where he also serves as secretary,
chairperson of the honors committee and a member of the executive
committee.
     When the International Council of Scientific Unions suggested
a decade-long plan to study the problem of global change, leading
geographers in the United States and the Soviet Union decided that
it would be worthwhile for geographers from both nations to write
a book on how they might contribute to a better understanding of
the problem. Mather became the American editor, working with
geographers from the U.S.S.R.
     The American edition of Global Change: Geographical Approaches
is at the galley proof stage and will be published this year by the
University of Arizona Press.
     In the aftermath of the coup in the Soviet Union, Mather has
been unable to contact his Russian counterparts to determine their
progress.
     From the University, Mather has received the
excellence-in-teaching award, was the 1984 recipient of the
Distinguished Faculty Lectureship from the College of Arts and
Science, was recognized by the University Board of Trustees with
the seminar room in the Department of Geography named in his honor,
and now joins the ranks of distinguished faculty who have received
the Alison Award.
                                        - Sue Swyers Moncure