Meriwether elected Fellow of American Geophysical Union

CLEMSON – John Meriwether, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy in the College of Science, has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), which boasts more than 62,000 members from 144 countries.

Meriwether was one of 62 Fellows in the AGU’s Class of 2019. The organization hosts international conferences, publishes 21 highly regarded global journals and promotes science by helping to communicate how science improves the lives of people, the well-being of communities, and the health of our planet.

“I have had several great mentors in my career trajectory as well as wonderful colleagues and students whom I have had the good fortune to collaborate with, so much credit goes to them,” said Meriwether, who retired in July 2018. “AGU is a wonderful professional society with huge numbers of men and women members who serve their professions with high dedication, whether glaciology, geology, hydrology, seismology, tectonics, and aeronomy/space physics – my field – to name a few. As a group we are probably the most experienced world travelers, because we need to go where the science is, whether polar, equatorial or mid-latitudes.”

Meriwether’s research focuses on the study of atmospheric dynamics with ground-based remote sensing techniques that can observe the winds, temperature and density of the upper atmosphere. This area is an important part of the disciplinary topic called aeronomy (physics and chemistry of the upper atmosphere).

“Dr. Meriwether is one of the world’s leading experts on the study of the upper atmosphere,” said Sean Brittain, chair of the department of physics and astronomy. “We are delighted to learn of this well-deserved recognition of his excellent research.”