Friday, January 22, 2010 — University Park, PA — Robert C. Landis (’63 B.S., Meteorology) and his wife,

Charlotte, recently committed $21,000 to the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State.  The gift will support the Joel N. Myers Weather Center in the Department of Meteorology.  They earlier participated with several other alumni to provide a gift that established the student council room in the student center.

In recognition of the Landis’ generosity, the broadcasting room in the Myers Weather Center will be named the “The Bob and Charlotte Landis Broadcast Room.”  This gift qualifies Bob and Charlotte for membership into the Obelisk Society.  The Obelisk Society recognizes supporters of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences who have life-time contributions totaling $25,000 or more.
 
Bob Landis is a retired Deputy Director of the National Weather Service and  president of Landis Associates in Alexandria, Virginia. Landis, who also holds an M.S. in Oceanography from Texas A&M University, began his distinguished career with the Navel Oceanographic Office and then held varied positions with the Mitre
Corporation, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).  He served extended terms as the southern regional director of the National Weather Service, assistant secretary general of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and director of the U.N.’s World Weather Watch.  His responsibilities included program  direction linking all national weather services in the world and on development of international women’s issues related to meteorology and hydrology. His recent experience has included the preparation of several major policy-oriented case studies and reports for the American Meteorological Society (AMS).  He has  presented or authored more than 60 professional publications and technical reports.  Landis is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society; a past  president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Executive Board; chief U.S. delegate to the WMO Commission on Marine Meteorology, the Commission on Basic Systems, and the Joint Commission on Oceanography and Meteorology; and former chairs of the AMS Scientific and Technical Committee on Meteorology in the Coastal Zone and the International Partners for the Global Climate Observing System.

Landis is a member, committee chair, and past-president of Penn State’s Earth and Mineral Sciences Alumni Constituent Society—Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences (GEMS)—a lifetime member and Fellow of the Penn State Alumni Association.   He is an elected-member of Penn State’s Alumni Council and an appointed member of its executive board.

Charlotte is an artist and holds a B.S. (MT ASCP), specializing in chemistry.  With a background in chemistry, painting became a natural transition with an interest in chemical elements and their reactions.  She began formal artistic training in Geneva, Switzerland.  The beauty of nature has provided an inspiration to her passions for painting and gardening.   Charlotte’s paintings are available at Show of Hands, the Art League Gallery in the Torpedo Factory and other galleries located in Alexandria area. She is an elected member of the Potomac Valley Water Colorists.