Paul Josef Crutzen

1933 - 2021

photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

country of citizenship: Kingdom of the Netherlands

native language: Dutch

languages spoken, written or signed: German, Dutch, English

educated at: Stockholm University, Ignatius Gymnasium

occupation: chemist, engineer, university teacher, climatologist, academic administrator, meteorologist

award received: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Volvo Environment Prize, Humboldt Research Fellowship, Max Planck Research Award, Leo Szilard Lectureship Award, Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, honorary doctor of Tel Aviv University, Honorary doctor of the University of Liège, honorary doctor of the Catholic University of Louvain, honorary doctor of the University of Athens, Humboldt Prize, Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, Lomonosov Gold Medal, honorary doctor of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, German Environmental Prize, Foreign Member of the Royal Society

Paul Jozef Crutzen (Dutch pronunciation: [pʌul ˈjoːzəf ˈkrʏtsə(n)]; 3 December 1933 – 28 January 2021) was a Dutch meteorologist and atmospheric chemist. He and Mario Molina and Frank Sherwood Rowland were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for their work on atmospheric chemistry and specifically for his efforts in studying the formation and decomposition of atmospheric ozone. In addition to studying the ozone layer and climate change, he popularized the term Anthropocene to describe a proposed new epoch in the Quaternary period when human actions have a drastic effect on the Earth. He was also amongst the first few scientists to introduce the idea of a nuclear winter to describe the potential climatic effects stemming from large-scale atmospheric pollution including smoke from forest fires, industrial exhausts, and other sources like oil fires. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and an elected foreign member of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom. Source: Wikipedia (en)