Norman A. Phillips (July 9, 1923 – March 15, 2019) was an American meteorologist notable for his contributions to geophysical fluid dynamics.[1][2] In 1956, he developed a mathematical model that could realistically depict monthly and seasonal patterns in the troposphere, which became the first successful general circulation model of climate.[2]
After graduating from the meteorological cadet program at Chanute Field as fourth in a class of 391, he served in the Azores and then at Westover Field until October 1946.[4] He returned to the University of Chicago after the war, earning his bachelor's degree in 1947, his master's in 1948, and his PhD in 1951.[3][5]
In 1974, Phillips left MIT to join the National Weather Service at the National Meteorological Center,[3] where he served as the principal scientist of the NMC Development Division.[6][7] When he retired, the Nested Grid Model was popularly known as "Norm's Great Model."[1]
In 1956, his seminal paper, "The general circulation of the atmosphere: a numerical experiment,"[8] was recognized with the first Napier Shaw Memorial Prize from the Royal Meteorological Society.[9]
Phillips, Norman A. (April 1956). "The general circulation of the atmosphere: a numerical experiment." Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 82 (352): 123–154. Bibcode:1956QJRMS..82..123P. doi:10.1002/qj.49708235202.