Boulder-based UCAR names a new president

 Antonio (Tony) J. Busalacchi has been named the next president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder following an extensive international search. He joins UCAR from the University of Maryland, where he is professor of atmospheric and oceanic science and director of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center. Busalacchi will join UCAR on Aug. 1.

UCAR is a nonprofit consortium made up of more than 100 member colleges and universities focused on research and training in the atmospheric and related Earth system sciences. UCAR’s primary activity is managing the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) on behalf of the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor. UCAR also oversees a variety of education and scientific support activities under the umbrella of the UCAR Community Programs.

Research at UCAR/NCAR advances understanding of severe weather, climate, geomagnetic storms, and other environmental factors that have significant impacts on society in the United States and overseas, including the global economy. This work helps to improve prediction of these phenomena and strengthen national and global resilience to them.

In his current position at the University of Maryland, Busalacchi leads an interdisciplinary research center encompassing meteorology, oceanography, geology, and geography to investigate how the land, oceans, and atmosphere react with and influence one another.

Busalacchi has held numerous scientific leadership positions over the last three decades. He has chaired or co-chaired many committees for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and its National Research Council (NRC) as well as the World Climate Research Programme. He has served on the NAS Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) since 2003 and led BASC as chair from 2009–2014.

Prior to joining the University of Maryland faculty in 2000, Busalacchi led the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (1991–2000) and the laboratory's Oceans and Ice Branch (1988-1990).

Busalacchi is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Earlier this year, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

He earned his master's and Ph.D. in oceanography and bachelor of science in physics from Florida State University. He is author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers related to atmosphere-ocean interactions.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research under sponsorship by the National Science Foundation.