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Charles R. Stearns, the principal investigator and founder of the AMRC and AWS projects, has been a renowned polar researcher for over two decades. Stearns began the AWS project at the University of Wisconsin in 1980 by acquiring the first Automatic Weather Station (AWS) designed at Stanford University. These stations were then modified to be transferred on location in Antarctica. The purpose of the AWS's was to allow for the first meteorological data to be acquired for the continent. Since large portions of Antarctica are difficult to reach regularly by humans, the idea of an automated system appealed to many, and thus the AWS project was born. There are now over 50 stations spanning the continent belonging to the AWS project. The data from the AWS systems are transferred back to the University of Wisconsin for processing and distribution to the public free of charge.

In 1992, Stearns envisioned another method of transforming the meteorological studies of the Antarctic – the generation and collection of satellite images. From here, the AMRC project was created. In the beginning, Stearns visualized using the Man computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS) to combine various polar-orbiter and geostationary images into one image. The generation of these composites continue today, and are the hallmark of the AMRC project.

Prior to his work on the Antarctic projects, Stearns was a widely admired professor of meteorology at the University of Wisconsin, teaching courses in polar meteorology and instrumentation, the likes of which have yet to be matched today. In addition, Stearns was an infantryman in the United States Army, participating in the invasions of Leyte and Okinawa during World War II.

Stearns received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1950. He received his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Meteorology in 1952 and 1967, respectively. He has participated in numerous field experiments over the years, including work in Peru, Greenland, and Antarctica.

In his spare time, Stearns enjoys working on his farm and spending time with his family.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. OPP-0537827, OPP-0338147, and OPP-0230028. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Science Foundation.