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Wednesday, September 01, 2021

Chuck Weidman Retires


The Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences newsletter from the University of Arizona notes that Chuck Weidman has retired. 

Ah, Chuck! I knew Chuck as a fellow graduate student at U of A, but he was also from my hometown of Corrales, NM. Chuck's father Charlie, John Shurter, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Groll, and my dad all carpooled to work at Sandia Labs. 

I was surprised to learn the Weidmans had a dog named Valdez. I once asked Chuck how the dog got its name, but he quickly changed the subject. Probably some obscure joke related to my dad.







As a graduate student, Chuck studied lightning under Professor Phillip Krider and was awarded his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences in 1982. He subsequently spent his entire academic career at the University of Arizona, retiring in January 2021 after four decades of exemplary service. His innovative field experiments to study lightning in Quebec, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, and the Kennedy Space Center were truly notable. The Tropical Ocean Global Atmospheric Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) was a large international field experiment conducted in 1992-1993 to study the atmospheric and oceanic processes over the region of the western Pacific known as the "warm pool," a region of warm ocean and atmospheric clouds, lightning and precipitation that is linked to El Nino.
Chuck will probably be remembered most of all for his remarkable skill in the classroom. He set the gold standard when it came to teaching freshman introductory atmospheric science courses. He emphasized the scientific method and famously punctuated his lectures with hand-written notes and colorful hand-drawn figures to illustrate examples of atmospheric phenomena.
Chuck was unmatched in the suite of take-home experiments he developed for his students. Frequently, these numbered 600-800 per semester, and he himself meticulously built the kits in the machine shop during summer recess. In addition, Chuck taught a graduate-level course in atmospheric electricity which was in high demand and very popular.
While still a graduate student, Chuck spent time abroad in France where he learned French and discovered his love of bicycling and the Tour de France. 
Dr. Weidman will be remembered as a world-class researcher, an unparalleled teacher, and a supportive and collaborative colleague with a wonderful dry sense of humor.

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