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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University's
renowned earth sciences research division in Palisades,
N.Y., turns 50 this fall. Five major events, including a
State-of-the-Planet Conference and publication of a book and
compact disk chronicling the Observatory's history, are
planned to mark the occasion.
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The Observatory was founded as the Lamont Geological
Observatory on the Lamont estate in Palisades, N.Y., in
1949, when Florence Lamont, the widow of prominent New York
financier Thomas Lamont, gave the 115-acre property to
Columbia. In 1969, the Observatory's name was changed to the
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory in recognition of a
generous gift from the Henry and Grace Doherty Charitable
Fund. The name was changed again in 1993, to the
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, to better reflect the
broad scope of the institution's research.
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With the gift of the Lamont estate in 1949, Maurice Ewing,
the Observatory's founder and first director, plus a dozen
or so colleagues, including Frank Press, who was later to
become president of the National Academy of Sciences, moved
their laboratories from Columbia's Morningside Heights
campus in Manhattan to Palisades. At first working out of a
root cellar on the beautiful Lamont estate, they launched
what is now widely acknowledged as the world's preeminent
earth sciences research institution.
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Since its very beginning, Lamont-Doherty has been at the
forefront of major breakthroughs in the earth sciences, and
also has become known as a center for the study of climate
change. Among the Observatory's accomplishments: Lamont
scientists laid the groundwork for plate tectonics theory by
mapping the ocean seafloor; created the first computer model
to accurately predict El Niño; and discovered that
the Earth's core is spinning faster than the Earth itself.
Nearly 450 Columbia affiliates, including more than 100
research scientists and another hundred Ph.D. students, now
work at the Observatory.
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Five major events are scheduled in celebration of the
anniversary:
- An all-Lamont Birthday Bash, September 27, to be held
in Manhattan's famous Rainbow Room;
- An alumni reunion, Oct. 2-3, to be held on the Lamont
grounds and at the IBM Executive Conference Center in
Palisades;
- The Observatory's annual Open House, 10 a.m. - 4
p.m., Oct. 2, to be held on the Lamont grounds;
- A State-of-the-Planet Conference, Nov. 15-16, to be
held at Lamont; and
- The dedication of the Monell Building Dec. 8. The
building will house the International Research Institute
for Climate Prediction as well as the Observatory
directorate.
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More than 200 alumni, some from as far away as Russia and
Denmark, are expected to return to Palisades to take part in
the reunion in early October. The reunion coincides with the
Observatory's Open House, which yearly attracts more than
5,000 visitors from Rockland and Bergen counties.
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This year's Open House will feature talks by Lamont alumni
on their experiences in the Observatory's early days, in
addition to its traditional offerings of scientific lectures
and exhibits, all designed for a general audience. New
exhibits will include a look at the history of the
Observatory; the result of recent research along the Hudson
River; and a teleconference with scientists aboard the R/V
Ewing, the Observatory's research vessel, which travels the
world collecting oceanographic data.
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The State-of-the-Planet Conference will bring together Nobel
Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning scientists, poets,
journalists and statesmen to address planetary issues
related to living in Earth's changing climate; living in a
human-dominated biosphere; and living with natural finite
resources. Speakers at the conference will include: James
Baker, director of the National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Wilfred Beckerman, an
Oxford University economist; Wallace Broecker, the Newberry
Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia,
whose work on global warming won him the National Medal of
Science; Gale Christianson, author of "Greenhouse: The
200-Year Story of Global Warming"; William Clark, Harvey
Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and
Human Development at Harvard University's Kennedy School of
Government; Joel Cohen, professor of international and
public affairs at Columbia, director of the Laboratory of
Populations at Rockefeller University and author of "How
Many People Can the Earth Support?"; Jorie Graham, Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet, noted for her environmental poetry;
Robert Hass, a recent United States Poet Laureate who writes
almost exclusively about the environment; James Hansen,
director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and
the first scientist to alert Congress to the threat of
global warming; Robert Kaplan, critically acclaimed author
of "The Ends of the Earth"; Richard Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan
Professor of Meteorology at MIT and dissenter from the view
that global warming is a result of human activities; Marc
Reisner, author of "Cadillac Desert," recently named one of
the top 100 books of the century; and F. Sherwood Rowland,
Nobel Prize winning chemist.
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William Baker, president of WNET-Channel 13; Cornelia Dean,
science editor of The New York Times; and Ira Flatow, host
of National Public Radio's "Science Friday," will serve as
moderators of the three sessions.
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Two years ago, NOAA awarded Columbia University $15 million
to create the International Research Institute for Climate
Prediction on the Lamont-Doherty campus. On Dec. 8, a new
building to house the institute will be officially
dedicated. The climate prediction institute's mission is to
produce climate forecasts that can be used by policymakers
all over the world to make practical decisions about
climate-related issues, such as agriculture and control of
infectious diseases. The building will be named the Monell
Building, in recognition of a major contribution from the
Ambrose Monell Foundation. Designed by Rafael Viñoly,
the 10,000 square-foot facility is situated overlooking the
Hudson River and will feature a 200-seat state-of-the-art
auditorium.
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In addition to special events, the Observatory is producing
a 50th anniversary book co-authored by 12 Lamont-Doherty
scientists who relate the Observatory's history through
personal insights and anecdotes. A CD with selections from
Lamont-Doherty's recently collected oral history will also
be available. The oral history and chapters from the book
will be available on the Internet, as well as in hard
copy.
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Earlier this year, Lamont-Doherty hosted a series of monthly
public lectures, presented by Observatory scientists in
commemoration of its first 50 years.
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For more information about upcoming events, call (914)
365-8565 or e-mail markin@ldeo.columbia.edu.
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