We are sad to inform you that Karen Cady-Pereira, a scientist at Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) for many decades, has passed away. Karen will be missed by all in our community who interacted and collaborated with her.
Karen grew up in São Paulo, Brasil, and attended the University of São Paulo, studying and excelling in physics. After graduating, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to study Physical Oceanography at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Falmouth. She joined AER in 1992 and quickly demonstrated an outstanding blend of mathematical acumen, curiosity, and determination in making contributions to a diverse set of research efforts, including studies in the fields of oceanography, Earth’s angular momentum, and radiative transfer. Her excellence led to her being promoted multiple times, eventually becoming AER’s first female Principal Scientist.
In her career, Karen achieved a rare hat trick: she was an incredible friend, an inspiring mentor, and left an exceptional scientific legacy. Karen broke free of the status quo of success: despite her encyclopedia of achievements, her direct reports describe her management style as supportive, kind, patient, and empathetic. Her humble work ethic combined curiosity, focus, and calm composure and amassed a suite of collaborators who thoroughly enjoyed working with her over many years.
Karen’s work significantly advanced our ability to quantify atmospheric composition from space, bridging critical gaps in tracking agricultural, industrial, and biospheric emissions that impact air quality and climate. Her contributions to NASA and NOAA satellite missions unlocked new measurements of a long list of trace gases from space. She is perhaps most widely known for her work on spaceborne measurements of atmospheric ammonia, a gas that leads to the formation of aerosols that influence global climate and have deleterious impacts on human health. Karen’s collaborative approach led to these data products being used by a wide community to explore implications for evaluating controls on emissions from sources ranging from agriculture to vehicle emissions.
Karen was a cornerstone of the atmospheric radiation and spectroscopy research teams at AER. She held an unmatched mastery of AER’s complex radiative transfer models, skillfully guiding a large global user base through their unique idiosyncrasies. Karen not only patiently guided this large community of users but also employed the models to powerfully advance research on trace gas absorption, water vapor, and cloud distribution.
Karen’s family suggests that any memorial donations be made to The Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation at http://vincentmemorial.org/donate/.
Matt (Matthew J. Alvarado)