UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #753
KUTZBACH, JOHN

KUTZBACH, John (1937- )
Past Director of the Center for Climatic Research; Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences; Emeritus Professor of the Institute for Environmental Studies
At UW: as undergraduate, 1955-1959; as graduate student, 1960-1961 and 1963-1966; as faculty, 1966-2003

Interviewed: 2006	
Interviewer: Robert Lange
Length: 6 hours, 47 minutes
Indexed by: Rob Rabe

Abstract: Childhood and early education in Reedsburg, WI; The influence of family and teachers; Undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin in the 1950s; Air Force ROTC training; Completion of a Master’s Degree at UW; Service  as an Air Force weather forecaster in France; Return to UW to complete a Ph.D.; Graduate student life and influential mentors at UW; Joining the UW faculty in 1966; Student protest era; Research agenda at UW; Teaching; Service on department committees and as Chair of department;  Collaborative research with national and international organizations; Awards and Honors; Legacy as a mentor of young scientists; UW administration; UW students; Global warming.

Note: This interview was restricted until January 1, 2016. 

First Interview Session (March 14, 2006): Tapes 1-3

00:00:47	JK was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin in 1937.  He explains that it was a small town environment and a good place to grow up.  The advantages of living in a small town.

00:02:04	Both parents were born on farms, but grew up in the town of Reedsburg. His parents were the first in his family to graduate high school.  Kutzbach’s ancestors were German immigrants.  He discusses the strong German culture, German language and Lutheran background of his childhood. 

00:04:34	His father was a banker in Reedsburg and eventually worked his way up to vice president. His mom was a homemaker but very involved in clubs, book clubs and church clubs. He had two sisters.

00:05:43	He talks about his education in a small school run by the Lutheran church.  He believes the small-school experience was beneficial to him. Scholarship was important in his family, and his parents encouraged him to go beyond high school. They did not encourage him to pursue any specific area of study. 

00:09:09	JK talks about his mother’s influence on his early education.  She encouraged good spelling and the development of a good vocabulary.  She trained local children for state and national spelling competitions.

00:10:51	He discusses his experiences at Reedsburg high school which had around 400 students at the time.  He started high school in fall 1951.

00:11:42	JK enjoyed his high school classes and work hard.  He was in the upper 10% of class and developed a set of friends that also got good grades. His parents encouraged him to take the maximum number of courses and the pre-college courses.

00:14:33	He did not gravitate towards math and science in high school.  Some of his favorite teachers were in the humanities. Made learning come alive. He discusses several history and social studies teachers and how they expanded his intellectual outlook.  His first awareness of class and racial issues in America.

00:17:42	JK talks about his physics teacher and his introduction to research. He reiterates that his history and social studies classes were the most compelling at the time.

00:20:13	He discusses the social structure of the Reedsburg community.  The town was generally homogenous, but there was a lingering distinction between national origins and the first and second waves of settlement in the town.  He was proud of his father. His father helped farmers keep their land during the depression. 
							
00:24:04	JK has few ties to Reedsburg since his parents died over 10 years ago.  He talks about his 50th high school reunion. 

00:25:08	He relates a few stories about his father as a golfer.  

00:29:15	He talks about his decision to go to college.  His older sister went to a Lutheran teachers college.  Kutzbach saw UW as the “logical and natural choice” and did not really consider other schools.   He talks about his conception of UW’s reputation and acceptance policies. 

00:31:18	End of Tape 1, Side 1.  

00:31:28	JK talks about coming to Madison in the fall of 1955.  Classes were difficult and he understood that it was very important to do well in the first year in order to stay at UW.  There were approximately 13,000 students at the time. 

00:33:01	He did not come to UW with a decided course study.  He was successful in all of his courses but felt that he uncommon gifts in science and physics. He also had a vague awareness that there were abundant job opportunities for engineers.

00:35:53	He discusses his coursework during his first two years at UW.  He took calculus and physics for engineers and declared a major in engineering.  He also took English composition, but not many electives. 

00:37:58	JK chose electrical engineering, but is not sure why.  He talks about his interest in different kinds of engineering.

00:39:54	He talks about some of his classmates from his undergraduate years.

00:41:03	He talks about a course in atomic physics with professor Herb, who had been involved in the Manhattan Project. Hans Bethe spoke to the class. He also talks about a chemistry professor.

00:43:35	He talks about Professor Rideout, a memorable professor in electrical engineering. The development of analog computing and feedback systems.

00:44:31	JK explains that he became less and less interested in engineering over time.  His interested turned toward the application of knowledge.

00:45:44	He discusses Professor Laudin of the Geology Department.  Kutzbach loved to hear people talk about “science you could see.” 

00:48:14	He talks about Professor Bryson of the Meteorology Department and a weather and climate course.  He explains why he became interested in weather and climate. 

00:52:34	JK talks about working to pay for college. Golf course maintenance.  Washing dishes.  He discusses living in a co-op dormitory that required him to do some work in exchange for lower rent.

00:56:54	JK talks about his experiences in the Air Force ROTC.  He felt he could serve better as an officer than a draftee.  He explains some of the training and drills.

00:59:38	ROTC was not controversial at that time and was a very popular way to fulfill your obligatory military service. 

01:01:07	JK sums up his experiences as an undergraduate student at UW.  Fraternity life.

01:02:37	End of Tape 1, Side 2.

01:02:48	JK continues to sum up his college experience.  

01:03:54	He describes graduation as a turning point in his life.  He discusses his active duty assignment in a early warning radar base on the North coast of Alaska.

01:06:28	He talks about his friend and fellow ROTC member John Dutton. Dutton gave him advice on how to get out of service in Alaska and work with in meteorology.

01:07:14	JK received new orders to come to the UW for training in weather prediction. He was able to complete his master’s degree during the year of his Air Force training in Madison. 

01:09:04	He discusses his new two-year active duty assignment at a NATO air base south of Paris. 

01:10:37	He offers a little more detail about his year at UW working on his master’s degree.  He talks about some of his work and research on campus.  He talks about using the lakes as an tool to study climate.

01:14:07	JK continues to describe the year he spent working on his MA. He talks about a research project with Heinz Lettow on wind patterns.  He talks about using scientific instruments on rockets to measure atmospheric conditions and early rocket research.   

01:17:24	JK talks about the faculty at the time and the research at UW.  He outlines a research project measuring wind friction on the frozen surface of Lake Mendota. His MA thesis studied controlled modification of wind profiles near the Earth’s surface. 

01:22:58	He talks about the rise of space and atmospheric studies at UW.  The impact of Sputnik on science funding and research. 

01:24:44	Kutzbach talks about the early development of computers on campus.  The university’s first electronic computer was in the basement of Bascom Hall.

01:26:14	JK explains that he did not intend to be an academic at this time.  He talks about his plans for the immediate future and his Air Force service. 

01:28:56	Kutzbach left for Paris in August 1961 after finishing his MA.  He talks about confrontation over the Berlin Wall, which had just been started when he got to Europe.    

01:30:54	JK talks about his experience at a NATO supply base in France.  His job there was to forecast weather. 

01:33:13	JK’s talks about the need to understand the weather situation across Europe and across the Atlantic and to inform the pilots about weather conditions. 

01:33:54	End of Tape 2, Side 1.

01:34:06	He continues to talk about forecasting weather for aircraft using the base and studying weather patterns. 

01:35:24	He discusses the development of computer based models for weather forecasting and the limitations of early systems.  Using practical experience and observation to determine weather patterns.

01:38:43	JK talks about the intersection of practical application of science and theory.  The value of working with scientific studies that had real life consequences. 

01:40:48	He talks about forecasting weather for aerial refueling of fighter planes crossing the Atlantic.  They also worked on models of how nuclear fallout would spread in the wake of an atomic explosion.

01:43:29	He talks about his off-duty life in Europe.  He had not been abroad before.  He explains his duty shift and time off.  He talks about traveling around Western Europe via car and airplane.  Learning to speak French and a little bit of German. 

01:46:31	He talks about travel to Normandy and surrounding coastal towns. He discusses the favorable attitude most French citizens had about Americans.

01:49:14	He talks about visiting caves in southern France and his fascination with the geology, history and archaeology of the area. 

01:53:21	JK discusses his plans to attend graduate school for a Ph.D. after his Air Force service.  He did not want a military career.  He explains what he wanted to gain by continued study.

01:54:52	He explains how the Air Force would have funded his Ph.D. study if he signed up for three more years of active duty.  He was concerned about losing his skills in math and science if he did not go back to school soon.

01:57:45	He talks about how he ended up returning to UW to get his Ph.D.  The development of interdisciplinary studies in climatology.  Grant funding and a research assistant position.

01:58:24	He did not aspire to be a research professor at a major university, but knew he wanted to do research.  He talks about his plans.

01:59:42	End of Tape 2, Side 2. 

01:59:52	JK describes department at the time when he started working towards his Ph.D in the fall of 1963. There were about 25 graduate students.  He talks about the department offices in Science Hall and rented laboratory space around the downtown area.

02:02:08	He talks about the research focus of the program and the state of the field at the time. 

02:03:51	JK had not come to the program with a preconceived question for his research. He was becoming less intrigued by day to day weather but more interested in long term weather patterns and the episodic nature of weather.

02:05:13	He relates his long period of struggle looking for a topic and his relationship with Professor Brycin.

02:07:03	JK explains the classification of weather systems and flow patterns. The use of  microfossils in ocean floor sediment to track long term and regional patterns. His thesis project involved using this methodology to study weather.

02:10:15	His topic included looking mathematically at weather patterns and discovering underlying  modes and patterns.  He talks about the theory of vibration and its application to weather.

02:13:14	JK describes the possible impact of his identification of preferred patterns. His basic technique is still being used today.  He is pleased that his work remains useful and that it has been improved upon by later research. 

02:14:00	He talks about models with multiple.  The example of El Nino.

02:18:02	He discusses the use of math and statistical skills in his thesis research. Specific examples of how he used math. 

02:19:24	He talks about the research process.  His topic area was new to the field and to the department and he did a lot of independent work with little oversight.  The faculty was supportive, but not closely involved in the project.

02:21:05	He talks about meeting his wife Gisela in 1964.  She was a colleague studying at UW on a 1-year Fullbright.  They married in Berlin in 1965.  He talks about his intense work to finish his Ph.D. and defend his thesis.  

02:22:39	He talks about his wife’s family and background in Germany. He describes the enjoyment of their personal and professional partnership.  Her help on his dissertation project.  Some aspects of their social life in the department.

02:26:02	Kutzbach talks about his Ph.D. committee members. Bryson, Latel, Horn, Johnson and his minor professor Peter Monkmeyer. The dissertation defense and the oral preliminary exam.  He finished in the summer of 1966. 

02:29:44	He points out that the Ph.D. standards are more rigorous today because of the dramatic growth of the literature and methodology in the field.  There is also more formal course work.

02:31:03	End of Tape 3, Side 1. 

Second Interview Session (March 15, 2006): Tapes 3-5
Tape 3/Side 2

00:00:05	Kutzbach talks about his plans for his career after graduate school.  He considered working for the National Weather Service in Washington DC.  There was a research project there on long-term weather prediction that interested him.

00:03:06	The department in Madison offered him a position as a assistant professor. He discusses the growth of the department at the time and its recruitment of new faculty.  He outlines two reasons that the department wanted to hire him.  The unique nature of his dissertation research.

00:06:08	He talks about the issue of a department hiring former graduate students.  He explains how he decided to accept the UW job.

00:07:33	He talks about his lack of teaching experience during graduate school. 

00:08:32	JK discusses the department’s teaching philosophy and teaching assignments.  The more experienced professors generally taught the large undergraduate courses while new professors were assigned graduate level courses in their specific subject area.

00:09:54	He talks about his first course, which was about statistical techniques applied to meteorology. He discusses his feelings about teaching more generally.  He likes to teach early in the morning.  He tries to focus on hands-on applied material.

00:13:06	JK explains his enjoyment of teaching small groups or individuals.  Lecturing to a large class is less satisfying.

00:14:20	He talks about developing a course for graduate students in dynamic climatology. By his fifth year he began to teach core classes in atmospheric dynamics, working away from specialty courses.

00:15:32	He talks about the large undergraduate survey courses in the department and the skill it takes to reach those students and make them interested in the topic.  The value of having senior faculty teach these courses.

00:19:17	JK discusses his process of achieving tenure.  He got tenure after the 3rd year of his appointment, which is comparatively fast.

00:22:34	He talks about changes in his teaching assignments over his career.  He gradually took on more responsibility for departmental administration.  He talks about John Young and Charles Anderson, both of whom were hired by the department at the same time as Kutzbach.  The growth of the department, both in terms of faculty and students.

00:25:58	He talks about changes to the formal administrative structure of the department to revise the curriculum, allocate space, the new building.

00:28:01	JK became more involved in committees and administration of the department. He understood that he had certain obligations to the department.  The collegial nature of the department.

00:31:17	End of Tape 3, Side 2.  

00:31:22	Kutzbach discusses aspects of the rapid growth of the department.  The influence of UW graduates in expanding the field nationwide. 

00:32:03	He talks about difference between the UW program and programs at other universities.  Field-based vs. theory based research. 

00:34:00	He discusses the department’s efforts to maintain strengths but also to fill in gaps in areas of study.  The department has a reputation of being both broad and deep. 

00:37:24	He talks about research funded by external research funds, including funds from the. National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Energy, and others.  Over 90% of research funded was by these organizations. 

00:38:42	JK talks about the responsibilities of research-based graduate education and compares standards and practices across departments.  The good relationship between the department and the university.

00:41:22	He talks about the funding for faculty salary, which is provided by the university. The competition with other departments for university funding.  He explains how some of the funds from grants could be channeled into salary, which might lessen a person’s teaching requirement for that period.

00:44:58	JK discusses his rise to become chair of the department in 1979.  He talks about the problem of communication within the department in a time of rapid growth.  The weekly department colloquium.  The tradition of monthly faculty dinners.

00:50:23	He explains the process of electing the department chair.  He points out that the dean has the final authority to approve the nominee.  There was usually broad agreement in the department about who should be the next chair.

00:54:14	He talks about some of the burdens of being chair.  The issue of being a liaison between the faculty and the deans.  The importance of communication within the department.

00:55:29	He outlines some of the major responsibilities, including hiring and tenure of the faculty. Curriculum issues.  Evaluation committee.  He talks about the merit-based nature of promotions and raises in the department.

00:58:24	He talks about the generally collegial nature of department and the way they dealt with difficult changes.

00:59:51	He talks about the issue of new faculty hires.  Finding the most excellent candidate. 

01:02:35	End of Tape 4, Side 1. 

01:02:47	JK discusses the problem of balancing duties as department chair and his publishing and research agenda.  He asked to be relieved of teaching obligations during his chairmanship.

01:07:01	He talks about his relationship with the Dean David Cronon during his tenure at chair (1979-82 and 1989-91).  He talks about Dean Cronon’s capabilities and support for the department.

01:08:23	He talks about the system of Deans and Assistant Deans and campus hierarchies.

01:10:13	He explains what kinds of issues had to be taken to the Dean.  Replacement hiring.  New faculty positions.  

01:11:49	The talks about the power and responsibility of the Deans in the UW administration.  Budgetary control.

01:13:51	He talks about the potential problem of denying tenure to a colleague.

01:15:33	JK explains why he served as chair twice in a short period of time.  Professor Horn was chair but was diagnosed with cancer and could not fulfill the duties. 

01:16:51	JK talks about the department’s concern about broadening of department and still being called the Department of Meteorology.  Concern over the department’s national reputation and the ability to attract faculty and students in across the whole range of the department’s focus.  The name was changed to the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science.

01:21:25	JK talks about the development of the new Atmosphere Ocean Science building in the late 1960s.  They occupy floors 8-15 of building.  

01:23:31	He sums up his thoughts on the role of the chair in the department.

01:25:47	He talks about being on the UW campus during the anti-war protest years.  The location of their building insulated them from much of the physical action of the time.  

01:27:30	He explains his beliefs about the war.  He talks about his opposition to the war starting in 1962 when he was in the Air Force.  He decided that he would face court martial rather than go to Vietnam.  He was not personally involved with the campus anti-war activities.

01:31:05	He talks about the fact that undergraduate students tended to be more active in the anti-war activities; graduate students tended to be more focused on research and their program. 

01:33:15	He talks about the bombing of Sterling Hall in 1970. 

01:33:52	End of Tape 4, Side 2.  

01:34:02	He continues to discuss the aftermath of the Sterling Hall bombing.  Meetings of the faculty were called to address related issues.  The problem of assigning grades to students who boycotted classes or were unable to attend for some other reason.

01:36:37	Kutzbach outlines the nature of his research during the first phase of his time at UW (through 1974).  Quantitative determination of modes of atmospheric phenomena.  Two major publications and “spin-off” projects.  Determining correlations among complex factors.

01:39:56	He turns to a new phase in his career, beginning in 1974.  Working with Gene Bierley of the Atmospheric Science Division of the National Science Foundation.  He took a year of leave and move to Geneva to help plan the first International Climate Conference.

01:46:05	Writing the conference report on the status of scientific knowledge about global atmospheric conditions and weather.  

01:47:11	He talks about using computers to create climate models that use physical laws to predict climate outcomes based on changing conditions. He talks about the use of computer models in science generally.

01:51:28 	He talks about the busy nature of his year in Geneva organizing the conference, traveling, and being the father of two young children.

01:52:32	He explain how the experience altered the nature of his research to a focus on computer modeling.  The emergence of a scientific community in this area of research.

01:56:10	He talks about the department’s receptivity to granting him a leave of absence.  Their philosophy of faculty development.

01:57:28	He outlines the work he did during a year in Germany (1979-80) as the recipient of a Senior Scientist Award from the Alexander von Humbolt Foundation.  Research on ancient lakes that covered parts of Northern Africa 10,000 years ago.

02:00:58	He talks about working with Tom Webb, a UW alumnus, on the paleo-ecology of the lakes. The emergence of a community of 30-40 interdisciplinary researchers to create a complex and accurate historical climate record.

02:02:00	End of Tape 5, Side 1. 

02:40:51	He continues to explain the significance of Tom Webb in this research.  He talks about the various research disciplines that are part of the project, which took on the acronym COHMAP.

Third Interview Session (September 20, 2006): Tapes 5-7

00:00:02	Kutzbach talks about meeting his wife Gisela in 1964 and discusses their relationship and shared intellectual activities.  She eventually moved to the History of Science department.  He talks about her research and writing on the history of atmospheric science.

00:11:16	She was unable to join the UW History of Science department, but was an adjunct professor in the College of Engineering.  Her work teaching scientific writing.

00:13:22	He talks about her skill as a teacher of undergraduate students.

00:15:24	He discusses how each of their work has influenced the other.  The joy of a personal and professional relationship.

00:17:43	Kutzbach returns to the early phase of his research in the late 60s and early 70s.  He spent a year (1968) at the British Meteorology Office on a NSF fellowship.  This was his first exposure to climate modeling.

00:20:17	He explains why the department encouraged him to take the position.  Professional development of young scholars.

00:22:15	He discusses his initial exposure to the international scientific community.  He talks about some of the scientists he met in England.

00:24:46	He talks about his involvement with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado and his work on climate modeling.  He travels to Boulder every August to collaborate with the scientists there.  The significance of NCAR in the climate modeling community.

00:28:34	End of Tape 5, Side 2. 

00:28:48	Kutzbach continues discussing his research.  He gives a short recap of the phases of his career that are discussed earlier in the interview.

00:31:48	He talks about the increasing sophistication of climate models.  He talks about several scholars who were studying the relationship between slight changes in the Earth’s orbit and changes in climate.

00:34:16	He explains how the axis has “wobbled” over time and how this was believed to affect climate over time.

00:35:32 	He discusses theories about the relationship between orbital position and snow accumulation or melting.

00:39:44	He talks about how this science is used to study ice layers and long-term climate change.  George Simpson of the Royal Meteorology Society and his 1940 paper arguing that orbital changes did not account for large scale climate change.

00:42:13	He talks about research in the 1970s that used ocean floor sediment to study climate patterns over time.  These findings showed that patterns correlate with orbital changes, which resurrected the orbital theory.

00:44:23	He explains how all of these strands of research came together to influence the direction of his work in the late 70s and 80s.  Employing the variable of warmer summers caused by orbital changes in climate models. 

00:46:30	He talks about how they formulated a research hypothesis and the complex factors they had to account for in the model.

00:48:12	He discusses the nature of scientific inquiry and the way his ideas came together.

00:55:50	The value of interdisciplinary research.

00:56:59	He talks about the response to the 1981 paper resulting from this research and the way it opened the door for more research.  Increased grant funding.

00:59:01	End of Tape 6, Side 1. 

01:00:05	Kutzbach continues to discuss the “snowball” effect of the publication of his initial work. He co-wrote a paper with Tom Webb that outlined the development of the research project and models.

01:02:00	He talks about how NSF funds and growing interest in the project led to expansion of the research agenda.  He outlines some of the subsequent research papers that resulted.

01:03:25	They published a significant article in Science in 1988 that summed up the current state of their research.  The collaborative nature of the research and writing.

01:05:41	He explains the preparation of a book on the topic.  Global Climates Since the Last Glacial Maximum (University of Minnesota Press, 1993) edited by Herbert Wright and JK.

01:06:44	JK talks about how climate modeling has evolved since the book was published.

01:08:48	He discusses scientific responses to their research.  Many scientists were surprised at their results showing that orbital position did have an effect on climate.  He explains how he traveled to conferences and other meetings to talk about their results.  Other researchers began to do models that supported their thesis.

01:13:02	He talks about the exposure of their results in the popular press.  A portion of their work involved convincing people of the accuracy and utility of computer climate models.

01:17:04	He discusses the influence of their research in other scientific fields, including hydrology and ecology.  Science textbooks began to incorporate their results.

01:18:40	He talks about his personal and intellectual satisfaction about the success of their work.

01:19:30	JK lists some of the other research institutions that were important in climate modeling research: MIT, the University of Washington, NCAR.

01:21:41	The television program NOVA did a show that made use of their research.

01:23:01	Kutzbach talks about the next stage of his research during the 1990s.  Work with deep-time geology to study patterns dating back millions of years. He discusses the emergence of a new hypothesis that significant geological changes had taken place in the relatively recent past, and that this affected climate.  This led to using variables related to changes in geologic formations in climate models.

01:30:34	End of Tape 6, Side 2. 

01:30:51	Kutzbach continues to discuss climate research that considers changes in topography and geology.

01:33:26	He explains the effect of geographic change on temperature change and Asian monsoons.

01:35:35	They published their first article on this topic in 1989.  They published an article in Scientific American in 1991 that attracted some popular attention.

01:36:57	He talks about what parts of his work are the most enjoyable.  His “amateur” interest in geology.

01:39:30	Collaborative research with Fred Biehler of the University of Chicago on geologic records and climate from 200 million years ago.

01:40:08	He talks about the Tibetan Plateau and Asian monsoons.

01:42:16	The influence of climate research on theories of human evolution.

01:46:08	He talks about theories of climate change and plate tectonics.  Research with Biehler on “large Earth” climate of 200 million years ago.

01:51:19	JK reflects on his changing interests. 

01:54:49	He details his work in the mid-90s to increasing the accuracy of how the ocean and vegetation are represented in climate models.  The increasing sophistication of climate models based on new research in many fields. He talks about how these models can be used to predict future climate and global warming research.

02:01:27	End of Tape 7, Side 1.

02:01:37	Kutzbach discusses feedback research on the interaction of climate, oceans, and vegetation.

02:04:07	He talks about the complexity of these models and questions that lead to new experiments and the adaptation of models.

02:06:27	JK talks about the two focuses of his recent research.  Work with Bill Ruddiman on natural cycles of changes to methane and carbon dioxide levels.   The research applies to the current debate over human-related global warming.

02:07:36	The current rise of methane and carbon dioxide levels is occurring at a time when the natural cycle should be decreasing.  It predates the Industrial Revolution that many people blame for rising levels.  He outlines research on the question of how climate might have evolved if humans had not affected methane and carbon dioxide levels.  The general issue of human impact on the land and its effect on climate. Collaboration with Bill Ruddiman on this subject. 

02:13:35	Reflections on humans’ reaction with the natural environment, global warming.

02:16:01	He talks about his new research that looks at using models to study future climate.  The technical challenges and complexity of this work.

02:17:27	Work with Jerry Meehl on future climate models.  Studying changes to the Great Lakes region based on changes in rainfall.

02:21:19	JK retired from teaching in 2003, but remains an active researcher.  He talks about the freedom that he enjoys now that he does not have teaching obligations. 

02:23:29	JK discusses grant funding and his current relationship to it.  

02:26:11	He discusses the new generation of climatology researchers. He thinks there is a large cohort of highly-skilled researchers and expects the field to continue to grow in exciting ways.

02:28:13	He relates his concern about the future of grant funding in the sciences.  Funding has flattened out since the Cold War years and research gets more and more expensive.  Funding is highly competitive and good proposals are now turned down.

02:30:09	He talks about the problem that talented scholars might not enter the field if they know they will have trouble funding their research.

02:31:25	End of Tape 7, Side 2

Fourth Interview Session (September 21, 2006): Tapes 8-9

00:00:20	Kutzbach outlines his research in China, starting in the mid-1980s, studying Asian monsoons.  Work with scientists who study changes in landscape and vegetation.

00:04:35	He discusses the positive reception he received by Chinese scientists and the intellectual culture in China.

00:06:45	Most of the scientists he encountered spoke English.  He talks about the relative lack of resources faced by Chinese scientists compared to those in the US.  This gap has narrowed in subsequent years.

00:08:14	He is an honorary member of the Chinese Academy of Science.  He talks about reciprocal programs between UW and the Chinese Academy.

00:10:11	JK discusses the status of the United States as a center of scientific research.  The US is one of the leaders in climate research by most measures.  He lists some other nations that are strong, including Japan and Germany.  The development of Chinese science programs. The US is “envied” for the amount of funding dedicated to scientific research.

00:13:49	He talks about the honor of being elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006.  He discusses the history and mission of the Academy.

00:18:14	He talks about some of the duties and activities associated with membership in the Academy.

00:20:34	He explains how a person is nominated to the Academy.

00:22:20	JK talks about members of the Academy being called to testify before congressional committees and other public service activities.  He recounts the experience of a colleague whose report on global warming was changed for political reasons, which created a storm of controversy. Academy members’ relationships to young scientists. 

00:28:00	Kutzbach talks about the funding and independence of the Academy.  The National Science Board.

00:30:54	End of Tape 8, Side 1.

00:31:00	Kutzbach talks about being given the Revelle Medal of the American Geophysical Union in 2006.  He discusses Roger Revelle’s research on global warming in the 1950s and 60s.

00:35:01	Revelle’s influence in raising government awareness of the issue. Revell’s influence on Al Gore.

00:37:52	He talks about the address he will give at the Revelle Award ceremony and other aspects of the honor.

00:40:40	He talks about winning the Milankovitch Medal from the European Geophysical Society in 2001.

00:41:51	He discusses the honor of being named Bascom-Plaenert Professor of Liberal Arts by the UW in 1990 and the research funding associated with the position.  The funding of the position.

00:46:33	JK discusses some of the graduate students whom he trained during his career at UW.  He talks about the fact that professors learn a great deal from their students as well.  The role of the professor as a “sounding board” for students.

00:49:27	Eighteen students got Ph.D. degrees with Kutzbach as their advisor.  Nine are working for major federal research labs.  He discusses the careers of several students.

00:52:38	He mentions the role of the federal government in funding major research in climate research.

00:54:40	He talks about six of his former Ph.D. students who are in academic positions around the country.

00:57:20	He discusses the satisfaction of having former students succeed as scientists and contribute significantly to the research community.

00:58:07	Three of his former students are on the UW academic staff as scientists.  He discusses some of their work.

01:01:41	End of Tape 8, Side 2. 

01:01:55	He continues to discuss the work of some of his former students in the area of various areas of climate research.  Interdisciplinary research.

01:05:17	He talks about students who were involved with the COHMAP projects and their subsequent careers as climate researchers.

01:12:05	He talks about the “shared legacy” of the COHMAP projects.

01:14:42	Kutzbach shares his thoughts about the students at the University of Wisconsin about the years.  He thinks the graduate students have been “very good” and “very enthusiastic” all through his career.  He talks about his concern over decreased funding and how that might affect graduate education.  Some high-quality applications are turned down due to financial considerations.

00:18:43	He talks about the high quality of the undergraduate students.  He also talks about the skillful instruction in the undergraduate courses and the overall high standing of the department nationally.

01:20:40	Teaching non-major undergrads.  He talks more generally about teaching undergraduate survey courses.  He talks about his feeling that undergraduate students generally lacked arithmetic skills and writing skills.  He feels that students have been better prepared and have higher skill levels over the last 5-6 years of his career.

01:25:43	Kutzbach discusses his feelings about the UW administration during his career.  He was not very involved with high-level administration.  He talks about Chancellor Harrington as an “intellectual giant.”  He sees a trend where university leaders are no longer intellectuals, but have other kinds of organizational skills and can work successfully with the state legislature and the community.

01:29:04	He talks about Donna Shalala.  He feels that she was very positive for UW and helped reinvigorate support for the university around the state.

01:32:56	End of Tape 9, Side 1.

01:33:11	He continues to discuss the positive aspects of Donna Shalala’s tenure at UW.  The revitalization of the athletic program.  Relations with alumni.  Increase in donations to UW and more public/private ventures.

01:37:06	He discusses John Wiley’s strong intellectual leadership and the growth of biotechnology research among other areas.  His science expertise.

01:39:01	He talks about the decrease in direct funding of the UW by the state legislature.  The increased reliance on private gifts for facilities and operations.

01:42:20	Kutzbach discusses his thoughts about the future of higher education in Wisconsin.  He is generally optimistic about the prospects.  The strong progressive tradition and the Wisconsin Idea.

01:45:57	He shares his concerns about funding.  The UW will “have to work harder and harder” to maintain its position.  He think there will eventually be a return to more adequate funding of UW.

01:49:12	Kutzbach discusses the issue of global warming.  Earth Day and increasing public awareness of the issue.  The problem of equitable distribution of resources.

01:52:43	Global warming is only one of many problems the world faces.

01:55:20	He discusses proposals for emissions caps and reductions and other plans of action.  Grassroots concern and activism.  He talks about the established understanding that human activity is affecting climate change.  Research demonstrates that the changes are not entirely part of natural cycles.

02:01:04	The links between global warming, natural resources, and national security issues. He remains “guardedly optimistic.”

02:03:59	End of Tape 9, Side 2. End of Interview.

END