Date: Jun 01, 2009

Dr. David Weissman Awarded Jean Nerken Distinguished Professorship in Engineering

Honored by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Professor of Engineering David Weissman, Ph.D., who has taught at Hofstra for more than four decades, has been awarded the Jean Nerken Distinguished Professorship in Engineering, Dean Bernard Firestone of the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announced.

The award was established in 1990 through the generosity of the late Albert Nerken, a chemical engineer, industrialist and philanthropist, in honor of his wife. The professorship is designed to recognize and encourage outstanding teaching, research, and leadership in the field of engineering sciences. Past recipients of the professorship include Sina Rabbany, Ph.D., and David Burghardt, Ph.D.

Dr. Weissman also will be honored by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Geoscience Remote Sensing Society with a certificate of recognition for his contributions and leadership to the organization. The award will be given July 13 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Dr. Weissman, a faculty member at Hofstra since 1968, has been actively involved in radar remote sensing and measurements for defense and environmental applications for four decades. He has developed and participated in innovative experiments and studies with colleagues at the NASA Langley Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, the Naval Research Laboratory and other major educational and government organizations. Starting in the late 1980's his efforts were focused on developing the ability of a satellite CW-radar (scatterometer) to measure the wind speed and wind stress over the global oceans. Beginning with the launch of the first NASA scatterometer into space in 1996, his activities have centered on the interpretation and application of the satellite scatterometer and other data. Since 1999, sponsorship by the New York City Office of the National Weather Service has led to a new area of rain measurements and its impact on the spaceborne scatterometer.

In 2006, Dr. Weissman initiated an educational outreach to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration between engineers and scientists and the museum community. He was awarded a $29,000 grant from the IEEE Foundation and Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society that resulted in a pioneering collaboration with the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. This led to a new interactive exhibit that shows museum visitors and students how weather radar performs its vital functions.

His most recent publications include "Measurements of the effect of rain-induced sea surface roughness on the QuikSCAT scatterometer radar cross section", Weissman, D.E. and M.A. Bourassa, 2008: accepted for publication,  IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electrical Engineers) Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, October 2008; "Correcting Scatterometer winds by removing rain effects", Weissman, D.E., G. Apgar, J.S. Tongue and M.A. Bourassa, 2005; Bulletin of the American Meteorological  Society, May 2005; and  "Calibrating the QuikSCAT/Seawinds radar for measuring rainrateover the oceans", Weissman, D.E., M.A. Bourassa, J.J. O’Brien and J. Tongue, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, December 2003.

Prior to teaching at Hofstra, Dr. Weissman was an electrical engineer for Dorne & Margolin, Inc., in Westbury from 1961-63, and from 1963-68 was a research engineer with the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, Cal.

Dr. Weissman received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from New York University, and Bachelor’s Degrees in economics and electrical engineering from New York University. He is a Life Fellow with the Institute of Electrical and Electrical Engineers (IEEE;) ex-officio member of Administrative Committee, Geoscience & Remote Sensing Society; ex-officio member of Administrative Committee, Oceanic Engineering Society; a member of the American Meteorological Society American Geophysical Union; and serves on the national committee of the International Scientific Radio Union.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 150 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students’ interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.