Series Description
BIOGRAPHY, 1949-1986
Biographical data contains SIO biographical forms and updates, and biographical sketches used in
reference books. Under Commendations and Awards, many of the general commendations come from a
variety of people--members of the public, editors and writers thanking him for information, notices of
acceptance to professional organizations and certificates of merit. This subseries also contains materials
from his 75th birthday symposium held at SIO in 1985, and the Feschrift they comprised. These
materials include photographs and negatives of family and friends and his early years with the Weather
Bureau. The Photographs and Photographs and Negatives contain additional early pictures, and the
series ends with Position Offers from 1961 to 1963 and Security data --primarily government
applications required between 1949 and 1967.
CORRESPONDENCE, 1934-1989
This series contains files that Namias called Memorabilia and Personalia containing much of his early
correspondence with many of meteorology's most prominent scientists, including Carl Rossby and Hurd
Willet of MIT, Harry Wexler and F. W. Reichelderfer of the U.S. Weather Bureau and Charles Brooks
of Woods Hole Observatory. These folders also contain the collection's only documentation of the late
'30s and early '40s when Namias was just beginning his work with the Weather Bureau. The
memorabilia and personalia date from 1932 through 1971. General Correspondence dates from 1951 to
1989 and was generated from his work with the U.S. Weather Bureau until 1971 and then SIO until
1989. Namias corresponded from his home as well as his office between 1987 and 1989. These home
files are noted in the container list. General Correspondence contains primarily professional materials--
letters to and from colleagues regarding issues in meteorology, and to and from members of the public
concerned about weather changes and forecasts. He received many requests for reprints, schedules,
forecasts and agendas for upcoming meetings and events. Correspondents include Rossby, Willet, Tor
Bergeron, and Philip Clapp of the U.S. Weather Bureau. Second copy correspondence contains mostly
duplicates although a small percentage of items here are not within the general files.
PROPOSALS, 1978-1989
This series is arranged by the various agencies that Namias and his Climate Research Group approached
for funding. The largest subseries are devoted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
which supported establishment and research efforts of the nation's first Experimental Climate Forecast
Center at SIO in 1985, the National Science Foundation which funded a study of large-scale air-sea
interactions over the northern hemisphere from 1983 to 1989, and the State of California Department of
Water Resources who supported studies of precipitation forecasting from 1982 through 1989. All the
agencies are ordered alphabetically.
WRITINGS, 1934-1989
This series is divided into Articles and Papers, Lecture outlines, Reprints, and Writings of others. The
bulk of the Articles and Papers date from 1967 to 1989 (with one very early paper called "The effects of
humidity on human hair," 1934). These are arranged chronologically by publication date when known
and by Namias' creation date when the paper is either unpublished or not listed in his bibliography. The
folders contain drafts of articles along with related correspondence. The Lecture outlines date from 1943
to 1987 and represent presentations of every kind delivered at conferences, meetings, and visits to other
labs and universities. These are arranged by year. Namias' Reprints date from 1934 to 1989. The
Writings of others consists of drafts, typescripts, and accompanying correspondence ordered
alphabetically by author. WRITINGS ends with Reports and Theses and Dissertations.