A UCLA professor of geography was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in April.

Marilyn Raphael is a leading scientist in Antarctic climate and ocean atmospheric interactions around Antarctica, said Laura Landrum, a project scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Raphael has been a faculty member at UCLA since 1998.

Raphael previously served as the president of the American Association of Geographers and was the co-chair of the expert group on sea ice processes for the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. She is a member of the National Academies Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and co-chair of the Polar Climate Predictability Initiative of the World Climate Research Programme.

“Not only does she do great science, she does great science advocacy and advice and serving,” Landrum said. “She’s involved in many different aspects of science – not only the research, but education, advocacy, policy, supporting other people, making science a welcoming environment and maintaining – the whole time – her own sense of curiosity and wonder.”

Election to membership in the National Academy of Sciences is a widely accepted mark of being a leader in one’s field, Landrum said.

Raphael said she grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and had an innate curiosity about the physical world. She added that from a young age, she was fascinated by natural phenomena like thunderstorms and, to this day, is still enraptured by the sky.

Reading also led Raphael to be curious about the world beyond where she grew up, she added.

“You have to imagine reading as a small child on a small island about a bigger world. If you’re interested in the environment – in the climate – polar climates are just, well, they’re unbelievable, because you’re in the Caribbean, where the only cold you get is inside the freezer,” Raphael said. “Then, you’re reading about a world where people live in darkness six months of the year, and it’s cold and windy.”

Raphael previously served as the chair of UCLA’s Department of Geography and the director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Thomas Gillespie said, adding that these roles have involved a significant amount of work that she has managed, while also being a world-class scientist.

“To do all this service and research at the same time is really impressive,” said Gillespie, a professor of geography.f

Raphael said that for her, academia is a path that not only involves individual curiosity, but also extending knowledge and sharing it with others. She added that she believes mentorship is essential and that information is valueless if it is not shared.

Michelle De Luna, a doctoral student currently working with Raphael on research about atmospheric rivers in Antarctica and changes in Antarctic sea ice, said Raphael was her favorite professor when she was an undergraduate at UCLA.

Raphael has a unique way of simplifying the way that we think about science by applying it to everything that we see in our lives, De Luna added.

“Seeing Professor Raphael work, seeing how she taught, really allowed me to envision myself in a classroom, teaching science, researching science, expanding our understanding of science,” De Luna said. “If it weren’t for Professor Raphael, I don’t think I would have ever become interested in research.”

Raphael said that being elected to the National Academy of Sciences is an achievement beyond what she ever imagined growing up.

“It does give me a little buzz … It’s the honor that is granted to you by your peers, ” Raphael said. “It’s like a validation of the work that you do.”