Abstract
nounced the selection in February. As NWS Southern Florida and is a Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex resident. Region director, Proenza will manage all operational He joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric and scientific meteorological and hydrologic programs Administration in the mid-1960s and has held a di- for the southern portions of the country, including criti- verse array of field and management positions cal severe weather warnings and forecasts, hydrologic throughout the country. A meteorology graduate of forecasts and flood warnings, climatology, and observ- The Florida State University, Proenza has served the ing networks. Proenza will direct weather operations NWS for more than 30 years. In 1987, Proenza joined for 10 states: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahama, Arkan- the NWS Southern Region Headquarters as its deputy sas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, director. He has been the acting director of this region Georgia, and Florida, plus the commonwealth of since January 1998. The NWS Employee's Organiza- Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. tion recognized him as the NWS manager of the year for 1998. • Proenza, a native of New York, was raised in Texas A&M Dedicates Oceanography-Meteorology Building Editor's Note: The following contains excerpts from a News and Notes ar- ticle on the dedication of Texas A&M's Oceanography-Meteorology Build- ing dedication where Jacques Cousteau was a speaker. On 10 November 1974, the new $8.4 million Oceanography-Meteorology Building at Texas A&M University was dedicated during a weekend devoted to observation of the University's involvement in marine affairs. [.. . ] The final event of the day was a second Special Marine Affairs Event in which Capt. Jacques Cousteau, Chairman of the Board, The Cousteau Group, Inc., and his son and principal assistant, Philippe, spoke to an SRO audience on the conditions of the ocean environment revealed during his recent voyages. The Cousteaus also answered many questions submitted by the rapt audience. [ . . . ] Cousteau, whom TAMU President Jack K. Williams introduced as an "honorary Aggie," applauded the university's decision to house oceanography and meteorology depart- ments in the same building. He said combined studies of these two areas hold great promise. The famous underwater explorer noted TAMU's distance from the sea but called attention to the university's oceanographic vessels at Galveston, where his own ship, the Calypso, has been docked since last spring and is undergoing repairs, While praising the practical uses of oceano- graphic research, Cousteau warned, "Don't forget applied research in support of fundamental science." He also warned against damaging the "fragile environment" of the ocean. "The greatest joy of studying the ocean is in seeing how much it is doing to bring people around the world together," Cousteau observed. Bull Amer. Meteor. Soc55, 346-347. Vol. 80,, No. 4, April 1999
Journal
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
– American Meteorological Society
Published: Apr 1, 1999