Washington, Warren (1936-)

WARREN WASHINGTON IS an African-American meteorologist and atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on the development of computer models that describe and predict the Earth's climate. Washington was one of the first developers of atmospheric computer models in the early 1960s at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. These computer models use the basic laws of physics to predict the future states of the atmosphere. Because these equations are extremely complex, it is almost impossible to solve them without a powerful computer system. Washington's book An Introduction to Three-Dimensional Climate Modeling (1986), coauthored with Claire Parkinson, is a standard reference for climate modeling. In his subsequent research, Washington worked with others to incorporate ocean and sea ice physics as part of a climate ...