A World of Change

Ireland Visiting Scholar Recognized

“Climate change challenges us to think beyond our own backyards,” noted Susan Solomon, Ph.D., during a lecture at UAB titled “A World of Change: Climate Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” Solomon was named the 2009 Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Distinguished Visiting Scholar.

The $10,000 award brings outstanding scholars who are generally recognized as figures of distinction in the arts and sciences to the UAB campus. Caroline Ireland, who recently received an honorary doctorate from UAB, set up the visiting-scholar fund with her husband, Charles, in 1984.

Solomon, a research scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, contributed to the initial findings that chlorofluorocarbons were causing the destruction of the ozone layer over the Antarctic. Her work earned her the prestigious National Medal of Science in 2000 as well as the Blue Planet Prize in 2004. She left the audience with these parting words: “I strive to keep the science separate from the social issues of personal values. What you know is different from what you believe. Engage.”

Maintaining the Momentum / Summer/Fall 2009