Expert on ozone holes at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

The Holy Father has appointed Professor Susan Solomon, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry in the Faculty of Science – School of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge (USA), and a regular member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Santo. Report of the press office.

Professor Suzan Suleiman was born on January 19, 1956 in Chicago. In his hometown, he began his studies in chemistry at the Illinois Institute of Technology, then completed his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently teaches atmospheric chemistry at the MIT School of Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, and leads the Chemistry and Climate Operations Group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Thanks to observations in Antarctica in 1986 and 1987, she was one of the principal researchers who explained the phenomenon of the ozone hole and suggested that polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play an important role in altering and depleting stratospheric ozone. This hypothesis has been confirmed in laboratory tests and direct measurements.

In 2000 he was awarded the Carl Gustav Rosby Medal from the American Meteorological Society for his fundamental contribution to understanding the chemistry of the atmosphere and to explaining the mystery of the formation of the ozone hole. He is a member of the American Academy of Sciences (USA). In 1994, the glacier got its name: Solomon Glacier (78°23′S, 162°30′E) and Solomon Saddle Pass (78°23′S, 162°39′E). He wrote the book Coldest March (Yale University Press, 2001). He was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific award in the United States. Solomon’s research was instrumental in the adoption of the Montreal Protocol to protect the stratospheric ozone layer.