Research History

For nearly half a century, scientists at SSEC have been innovators in the areas of weather and climate research, remote sensing, instrumentation and data visualization. The Center is based on the pioneering work of its founders, Professors Verner E. Suomi (Meteorology) and Robert J. Parent (Electrical Engineering). They were the first, in 1959, to monitor the Earth’s radiation budget from the Explorer 7 satellite. Suomi and Parent went on to invent the spin-scan cloud camera which allowed continuous viewing of cloud motions from space, an instrument that was included on geostationary satellites worldwide from the 1960s through 1994. These experiments comprised some of the Center’s earliest research in atmospheric and space sciences.

This site is a compilation of historical research programs, experiments and instruments, either led by Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) scientists or which included participants from SSEC. Each program entry includes an overview, selected publications authored by SSEC scientists, and links to related web sites.