Josefino "Joey" C. Comiso, Ph. D.

PHYSICIST NAME: Josefino "Joey" C. Comiso, Ph. D.
STUDENT NAME: Angela Mari Peralta

BIOGRAPHY

Anyone who meets Dr. Josefino C. Comiso for the first time would also certainly be taken by his unassuming, relaxed, and totally approachable manner. For a scientist of his rank and caliber, one might have expected a rather stiff academic with a professional air about him, but not our man at NASA. WHAT is almost impressive about Dr. Comiso, or Joey to family, friends and colleagues, is his agility in translating a scientific study into a story with a beginning and an end, allowing even the most unscientific mind to come away with an appreciation not only of
the value of the work being discussed but also of the man himself. His explanation on how global warming and its effects are being studied in on such story which reveals both the scientist and the teacher in him.

Joey is currently a senior research scientist in NASA's Earth Sciences Directorate. He is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on sea ice, polar processes, and satellite remote sensing. His studies have been documented in more than 80 referred publications, three books, and several chapters. He has also been asked to give plenary and invited talks in numerous conferences, meetings and workshops around the world. He served as the chief scientist during a NASA aircraft mission in the Arctic that included coincident measurements with a nuclear submarine. He was also a principal investigator in several Antarctic field programs and is the chief scientist of an upcoming NASA aircraft program in the region. He has received many awards, including NASA's group achievement award, GSFC's best ocean paper award, and numerous NASA special awards.

It was at NASA that the focus of his career in research changed drastically from very basic studies in physics such as time reversal violation (or non-violation) in electromagnetic interactions, charge exchange phenomena, and pion-capture processes into studies on climate change, polar processes and southern ocean oceanography. A brief look at his background takes us back to the University of the Philippines, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Since graduation in 1962, Joey Comiso's search for academic and professional excellence has never abated.

As one of the early junior scientists to be hired at the then newly established Philippine Atomic Research Center, he immediately got immersed in research in the area of "neutron diffraction scattering." After a brief teaching stint at the University of the Philippines, he started graduate studies at Florida State University where he completed his master's degree in Physics in 1966. He went on to receive a PhD in experimental elementary particle physics in 1972 from the Universiity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

After holding a research associate physics position at UCLA, he was offered a similar post-doctoral position at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. While at UVA, he was involved with top scientists in "pion-capture experiments" that provided insights into "nucleon charge exchanges processes". These significant discoveries were also conducted at the then newly constructed Los Alamos Meson Facility and NASA's Space Radiation Effects Laboratory in Virginia. Likewise, while using the conducted at the then newly constructed Los Alamos Meson Facility and NASA's Space Radiation Effects Laboratory in Virginia. Likewise, while using the facilities of the nuclear engineering laboratory at UVA and during a special research project, he co-discovered with the university's top physicist, Prof. K. Ziock, the unique unfolding technique for measuring the stopping power of nucleons.

In 1972, Joey was introduced to the use of remote sensing techniques for Earth science studies by former Berkeley physics friends. This involvement led to an appointment with the Computer Science Corporation as a senior analyst where he studied aircraft and spacebased remote-sensing techniques. Soon enough, his work experience led him to realize that these powerful techniques would eventually revolutionize the way the Earth's climate system was being studied. The following year, he applied to be a physical scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center, which was then just beginning to be known as a world-class center for Earth science studies. In 1979, he became a staff member at Godard where he immedately assumed a key role in the production of the first atlas on sea ice cover observed by satellite microwave radiometer, published in 1983. He was subsequently involved in the production of a second atlas published in 1987 and a third one in 1992.

Joey has also been active with the Philippine-American Community. He has been president and is currently the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Academy of Scientists and Engineers, an organization with more than a hundred members, mostly in the PhD level, engaged n research in various areas: medicine, physics, biology, mathematics, chemistry, different aspects of technology as well as economics. He has been a visiting scentist at the University of the Philippines on the invitation of the Department of Science an Technology. He has also attended several scientific meetings in the Philippines and was a plenary speaker in a recent annual science meeting sponsored by the Philippine Academy of Science and Technology. Recently, he was featured as one of the "Ten Outstanding Filipino Scientists" in a book by Qeena Lee Chua, a professor at the Ateneo University.

Asked about future plans, Joey says "I hope to work for another 10 years before retirement... I will be flying to the Antarctic to do more studies. I look forward to working on even more comprehensive global data sets that will be made available with the launch of new and sophisticated satellite systems by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise Project." He hopes to be able to establish with more confidence the effect of human actiivities on global warming and the impact of the current warming trends to the quality of human life. He also looks forward to more interactions with scientists and engineers in the Philippines and some means in which Filipino-American scientists in the US and Canada could help facilitate the transfer of new technologies and scientific know-how into the country. Highlights of his life's work are found below.

On a lighter note, Joey says," One thing I like in being a scientist is that you are given a chance to do your
thinking in the most relaxed time period. We are given a lot of freedom in doing our research. Some scientists
are more productive outside the office. I can work at home, with my laptop." When not working, Joey takes to
photography, the piano and by self-admission, is quite a good ukelele player.

All in all, it is obvious that our man at NASA is happy where he is. His partner in life, wife Diana, is currently
Director of Nursing at Washington Nursing Facility and was President of the Philippine Nurses Association for
four years. They have three children: sons Glen, 31 and David, 27 and daughter Melissa, 25.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Highlights of research efforts by J. Comiso during the last 20 years:

1. He develped the Bookstrap Algorithm for the retrieval of sea ice parameters from satellite data that is now being used worldwide and adapted for new satellite systems.

2. He made important contributions on studies of Polynyas and the Odden, including
a. the discovery of an theory behind the Cosmonaut Polynya;
b. the role of coastal polynyas in bottom water formation and thermohaline circulation in the Ocean;
c. new insights into the large Weddell and Maud Rise polynyas;
d. detailed characterization of the Ross Sea Polynya; and
e. the role of the Odden as one of 4 convection areas in the world's ocean leading to deep
water formation.
3. He has provided useful insights into the global climate change phenomenon with the discovery of:
a. an unexpected cooling in Antarctica during the last two decades;
b. hemispheric asymmetry in the trends of the sea ice cover;
c. Effects of El Nino in the Antarctic and a changing climate in the Bellingshausen Sea;
d. rapidly declining perennial ice cover; and an accelerated warming in the Arctic.
4. He is first to put together and analyze a long term and co-registered satellite data set on sea ice, surface temperature, cloud statistics, and albedo in the polar regions. This data set is now used for climate studies in many centers around the world.

OBJECT OF INTEREST

I chose this physicist since he somehow capture my attention being a Filipino physicist in NASA! Can you believe that?! He must be really intelligent to be able to be a member of such World Famous Organization! I'm really amazed. How I wish I can be also smart like him.

He studied at University of the Philippines (one of my dream schools), where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics! In Florida State University, he completed his master's degree in Physics! Still not satisfied he went all the way to University of California, Los Angeles to receive his PhD in experimental elementary particles in physics. He must have really loved Physics and Physics loves him too!

Him being a Filipino known by so many in this field makes me somehow proud to be a Filipino. I mean it's not everyday you see someone achieve so great that everyone acknowledges. He goes to show that Filipinos can also contribute something to the world. :D