Piotr Jacek Flatau is a Polish-American atmospheric physicist whose research encompasses cloud microphysics, radiative transfer, tropical dynamics, and electromagnetic scattering. He has worked at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, since 1992. With Bruce T. Draine, he co-developed DDSCAT, a numerical implementation of the discrete dipole approximation for calculating scattering and absorption by irregular particles.
Education and career
Born in Poland in 1953, Flatau graduated from Tadeusz Reytan High School in Warsaw in 1972. He received his M.Sc. in theoretical physics from the University of Warsaw in 1977, working under Jerzy Mycielski, and subsequently worked at the university’s Institute of Geophysics under Krzysztof Haman.
After moving to the United States in 1982, he studied atmospheric science at Colorado State University, earning an M.Sc. in 1985 and a Ph.D. in 1992. His doctoral research on scattering by irregular particles was supervised by William R. Cotton and Graeme Stephens. He received his habilitation in physics at the University of Warsaw in 2012, the title of professor in Poland in 2016, and was elected a foreign member of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 2017.
At Scripps, he joined the Climate, Atmospheric Science and Physical Oceanography division. His early work with Veerabhadran Ramanathan and Paul Crutzen involved major international atmospheric field campaigns. He has taught and mentored students in the United States, Poland, and Indonesia.
Research
Flatau and Draine began developing DDSCAT in 1990. The software models electromagnetic scattering and absorption by particles such as ice crystals, dust, soot, and marine phytoplankton. Their description of the discrete dipole approximation appeared in the Journal of the Optical Society of America A in 1994; subsequent work extended the method to periodic targets.
His cloud-physics research includes contributions to the CSU-RAMS cloud-microphysics module and analytical solutions for particle-collection growth, developed with Johannes Verlinde and William R. Cotton. He has also investigated cirrus clouds and their radiative effects. With Jerome M. Schmidt and colleagues at the Naval Research Laboratory, he used high-resolution radar to study cloud structure and observe individual raindrops in the free atmosphere. Work with Schmidt and Paul R. Harasti examined mixed-phase nimbostratus uncinus.
In tropical meteorology, his work addresses ocean–atmosphere interactions, the Madden–Julian oscillation, monsoon onset, equatorial waves, tropical cyclogenesis, and extreme rainfall. Collaborations with Maria Flatau, Dariusz Baranowski, Beata Latos, and other researchers have examined how tropical waves influence floods in Indonesia and the development of tropical cyclones.
Field research
Flatau participated in FIRE cirrus-cloud research and in CEPEX in the equatorial Pacific, INDOEX over the Indian Ocean, and MINOS on Crete. His fieldwork also includes the United Arab Emirates Unified Aerosol Experiment, ocean-colour and atmospheric-correction studies through NASA’s SIMBIOS programme, and Equatorial Line Observations in Indonesia. These projects connect observations of clouds, aerosols, radiation, and the tropical atmosphere with numerical modelling.
Historical and literary work
Alongside atmospheric science, Flatau writes and edits works on Polish scientific, literary, and cultural history. He is a grandson of neurologist Edward Flatau and a son of physician Joanna Flatau. His projects include Edward Flatau i jego dwie córki, publications devoted to Władysław Szlengel with Katarzyna Zimek, a commemorative volume about Krzysztof Haman, and writing on the history of tango.
He has translated Argentine tango lyrics into Polish for performances and concerts, including work performed by Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk, and has contributed to theatre and documentary projects. He also wrote the Polish climate blog Fizyka Klimatu and has contributed to climate-science education. Further cultural projects are presented at Uncinusmedia.
Sailing and meteorology
A sailor since his youth, Flatau has applied meteorology to competitive sailing. With Bogumił Jakubiak, he provided forecasting support to Poland’s 470-class sailing team. He prepared forecasts during a pre-Olympic regatta in Qingdao in 2006 and worked as a meteorologist for Roman Paszke’s 2011–2012 attempt to sail around the world from east to west aboard Gemini 3.
Biography and profile information adapted from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Wikipedia (EN).