Julián Adem Chaín (1924-2015)
Dr. Julian Adem Chaín was born in Tuxpan, Veracruz, on January 8, 1924. He studied civil engineering at the National School of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) from 1943 to 1947, as well as at the Faculty of Sciences of the same university from 1945 to 1950. In 1951, he began postgraduate studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, where he earned a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in 1953. Between 1955 and 1956, he pursued specialized studies at the International Meteorological Institute of the University of Stockholm, Sweden.
Dr. Adem was a professor at the Faculty of Sciences of UNAM and a full-time research scientist at the Institute of Geophysics of UNAM. He stood out in his research as an expert and pioneer in climate theory, where he introduced and perfected a thermodynamic model that allows, from a theoretical reproduction or simulation of observed natural climate, to calculate the annual seasonal temperature. His findings have been cited in numerous articles and books by international researchers.
In addition to his research activities, Dr. Adem held various positions in Mexico, including Director of the Institute of Geophysics of UNAM, Coordinator of the Multinational Earth Sciences Center in Mexico of the Organization of American States (OEA), advisor to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT), and director of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences of UNAM. Additionally, in 1960, he founded the Mexican Geophysical Union (of which he served as president until 1977) and its official journal, Geofísica Internacional, the first issue of which appeared in 1961. In 1988, he founded the journal Atmósfera, of which he was editor until 2002.
Dr. Ádem received numerous distinctions, including the National Sciences Prize in 1967, membership in the National College (to which he was elected on October 23, 1974), Emeritus Researcher of UNAM (September 1992), "Universidad Nacional" Prize in the area of research in Exact Sciences (UNAM, October 1993), Honorary Doctorate from the Universidad Veracruzana (November 1993), "Mariano Bárcena" Medal (Mexican Geophysical Union, November 1994), and the "Adolfo Ruiz Cortines" Medal from the Honorable Legislature of the State of Veracruz (December 1994). In February 2001, he was appointed "Honorary Affiliate" of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History for his work in geophysical science for the benefit of Pan-American countries.
