AS A JAPANESE meteorologist generally regarded as the world s leading scientist in the field of numerical modeling of climate and climate change, Syukuro Manabe pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations. Manabe was one of the first scientists to study the phenomenon of global warming in the 1970s, when he investigated the possibility that the emissions of great quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas could affect climate.

Born in 1931, Manabe graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1958. The post-war period was a difficult time for scientists in Japan. Manabe was among those who, like Aldo Arakawa, found better career opportunities in ...