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<div align="center"><b>Reid A. Bryson<br>
7 June 1920 - 11 June 2008<br>
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Reid A. Bryson died at his home in Madison WI, 11 June of this year. He
was born in Detroit 7 June 1920. He is survived by his wife and four
children.<br>
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He completed a BS at Dennison in 1941. Following basic meteorological
training, he served 3 years in the Air Force during WWII as a weather
forecaster. He completed his PhD in meteorology at the University of
Chicago in 1948 and joined the Geography Department of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison at that time. Recognizing the need for a more-thorough
meteorological training and research program, he founded the UW Dept of
Meteorology, which has grown to be the largest in the country (now Dept.
of Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies) and one of the most productive
departments in research and of students. He formed the Center for
Climatic Research in 1963 and was instrumental in establishing the Inst.
for Environmental Studies in 1970. He was a long-time member and strong
supporter of AMQUA. He attended the first biennial meeting in Bozeman in
1970.<br>
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Reid was a tower in the fields of meteorology, climatology,
paleo-climatology and relationships between the climate, people and
vegetation. Early on, he defined the geographic limits of the
various airmasses which dominate different areas of the globe and showed
how the climatic conditions of each provided a favorable environment for
the various natural vegetation areas. He promoted continuing interaction
with anthropologists, archeologists, biologists and geologists<br>
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Bryson was a superb grad student’s mentor. His mind seemed full of
research ideas and countless means whereby they could be
investigated. He planted innumerable seeds for
meteorological/climatological research with his students. He
produced over 200 research papers on the above topics during his career.
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Most recently, he developed a model to reconstruct past climates from
pollen, tree-ring, geological and archeological evidence, but continued
to offer thoughtful, critical comment on results of models still based on
an incomplete understanding of the physical environment.<br>
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A memorial gathering will be held at 10 am, 23 August in the auditorium
of the Heritage Oaks facility, 6205 Mineral Point Rd., Madison WI 53705,
where friends and colleagues are invited to share their experiences with
and impressions of this giant of environmental science. Reid’s wife,
Fran, continues to reside at the Heritage Oaks.<br>
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<i>--Wayne Wendland<br><br>
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