High points of a half-century of science and engineering

People, events and ideas that changed the university

Charles David Keeling at Scripps Pier, 2005.— Union-Tribune file photo
One of the banks of high-powered computers at the San Diego Super-computer Center, 2005.— Union-Tribune file photo
A Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher checks a slice of from a ice core sample taken from the South Pole in 1968 and readies it for testing, 2008. — Union-Tribune file photo
Students from UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering tested the behavior of liquid in near-zero gravity aboard a NASA plane. The research is intended to develop a cleaner, easier way for astronauts to urinate in space. &#160; (UCSD)
Margaret Landon, 2005.— Union-Tribune file photo

Charles David Keeling

Is carbon dioxide fully absorbed by the world’s oceans and vegetated areas, or does some of it rise into the atmosphere? Flip the calendar back to the early 1950s and you’d get little more than speculation from scientists.

The puzzle was solved, to a large degree, by Charles David Keeling, a climate researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. Keeling revolutionized climate-change research by measuring the movement of CO2 into the atmosphere, a discovery that eventually would expose carbon dioxide’s role as a significant greenhouse gas.

Keeling took his first measurements in the late 1950s. But he and his colleagues continued taking the reading for decades, helping to pinpoint the impact of burning of fossil fuels and industrialization.

San Diego Super-computer Center

Sunday, Nov. 14, is the 25th anniversary of a center on the UCSD campus that’s known as much for helping to solve problems as it is for extraordinary computing power.

The center has helped hasten and improve the design of pharmaceutical drugs, led to better ways to grow food and a more effective means to battle the virus that causes AIDS.

The facility also has helped make it easier to predict solar disturbances that can damage satellites.

Scientists have used the center’s computers to improve weather forecast models and develop ways to track wildfires. Currently, the center is working on ways to make the Internet and various mobile platforms operate faster.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Scripps evolved from a small, independent laboratory founded in 1903 into the nation’s pre-eminent oceanographic institution. During the past 50 years, Scripps has helped explain the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates, the nature of waves, and the mechanics of weather and climate change.

The institution, now part of the university, has been home to heavyweight scientists such as Walter Munk, who is widely called the “greatest living oceanographer” for his studies of ocean circulation, waves and tides. Roger Revelle also led Scripps to greatness, mostly through pioneering work on climate change.

And Scripps scientists have played a pivotal role in studying the California Current, which affects everything from fish stocks to weather conditions along the West Coast.

Jacobs School of Engineering

Southern California shook hard Jan. 17, 1994. A magnitude 6.7 earthquake erupted in Northridge, killing more than 70 people and causing $20 billion damage.

Portions of some freeways were heavily damaged, but many key bridge supports withstood the shaking, having been reinforced with a jacket system developed by UCSD engineers. The program, now known as the Jacobs School of Engineering, also helped enhance the design of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and created the nation’s first large outdoor shake table to test structures for clients like Caltrans.

The school has fashioned a simulator that helped reveal how bomb blasts damage buildings. The research is being used to reinforce American embassies.

The engineering school also continues to be well-known in aerospace and defense research. Early on, it helped design portions of missiles and satellites.


