Dr. S. Fred Singer, R.I.P.

Published April 7, 2020

A summary of his scientific accomplishments would take hours to read. A few of the highlights include pioneering earth observation satellites in the early 1960s, creating the National Weather Bureau’s Satellite Service Center, serving as the founding dean of the School of Environmental and Planetary Sciences at the University of Miami, serving as the chief scientist for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and serving as deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [See his long and impressive bio on Heartland’s website here.]

Supplementing those and many other accomplishments, Singer was a leading voice for realism regarding global warming. Singer founded the Science & Environmental Policy Project to address climate change issues. He authored dozens of books and studies regarding climate change issues. His 2006 book, Unstoppable Global Warming, Every 1,500 Years, coauthored with Dennis Avery, was one of the most influential and widely read climate science books ever written. His work with the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), for which he served as lead author of the Climate Change Reconsidered series of comprehensive climate science summaries, was instrumental in providing authoritative scientific support for climate realism.

For many, Singer will be most remembered for his annual appearances at The Heartland Institute’s International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC) events. Singer not only gave compelling science presentations at the climate conferences, but he became an influential mentor to attending scientists and a beloved friend to Heartland Institute staff, conference attendees, and fellow scientists. [See his many ICCC presentations at this link.]

The field of science will miss Fred Singer very much, as will the many, many people who were fortunate enough to get to know the man.