Russell R. Dickerson is a professor and past chair of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland. He received his A.B. (1975) from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. (1980) in chemistry from University of Michigan, where he studied the photochemistry of trace gases in the atmosphere. Postdoctoral work was performed in the Air Chemistry Division at NCAR and in the Abteilung Luftchemie (Division of Atmospheric Chemistry) at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, Germany. Dickerson's research involves the interactions of weather phenomena, such as thunderstorms and atmospheric chemistry, ocean-atmosphere interactions, global biogeochemical cycles, air pollution, the links between particulate and gaseous chemistry, photochemical smog, and haze. He served on committees for NRC, UCAR, NOAA, and EPA. He has directed Ph.D. research for 19 students and has been involved in international chemistry/climate field experiments spanning the globe, from the southern Indian Ocean to the Arctic. He has served as press officer for AGU and is a member of the ACS and AMS. He has written more than 90 publications (54 in AGU journals) for the reviewed scientific literature, and serves as director of the Regional Atmospheric Measurement, Modeling and Prediction Program (RAMMPP), which provides the scientific basis for air pollution and climate change strategy in the mid-Atlantic region.