Natalia “Natasha” Andronova, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer.
Andronova was widely known for her many achievements in climate science as well as her kindness and generosity. She was beloved by students, staff and faculty both within AOSS, the College of Engineering and across the university.
She demonstrated her thoughtfulness for others daily by giving candy bar prizes to students, bringing oranges and granola bars to class and dropping off flowers and chocolates for her colleagues on special occasions — or just because.
Just a few months ago, Andronova was selected to receive the 2014 AOSS Faculty Award. Her accomplishments included being an integral developer of the Master of Engineering program in Applied Climate. She defined the program, advised students and developed new courses for it. She regularly taught classes for graduate and undergraduate students, including Engineering Climate Change and Coping with Climate Change.
She was not only an excellent teacher but also a talented and hard-working researcher. Her participation with and contributions to the Fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment resulted in being a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Andronova held a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Leningrad State University in Russia and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Leningrad School of Public Education. In 1975 she earned her master’s degree in fluid mechanics from Leningrad and in 1993 she earned her Ph.D. in atmospheric science and geophysics from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Russia.
She came to the United States in 1991 as a visiting scientist at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She became a research specialist and an assistant research professor at UIUC and served the university until 2005, when she joined AOSS at U-M.
