Richard Stolarski


Richard Stanley Stolarski was an American atmospheric scientist. He played a critical role in the discovery of the ozone hole.

Early life and education

Stolarski was originally from Tacoma, Washington, the son of Stanley and Rose Stolarski. He obtained his bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Puget Sound in 1963 and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Florida in 1966.

Career and research

With Ralph Cicerone, he identified the role of chlorine in ozone depletion.
Stolarski was at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for 30 years. At NASA he was involved in satellite measurements of ozone. In 1986 they confirmed observations of an ozone hole in spring over Antarctica by Farmer, Gardiner and Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey from 1985.
In 2010, he became a research professor in the Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Johns Hopkins University.

Death

Stolarski died on February 22, 2024, at the age of 82.