Sunday, June 18, 2006

More to Come...

Dear Readers,

Please check back regularly. I'll continue to add interesting content here related to Dad: His work, his life, our memories of him, tributes to him, and reminiscences about this experience.

Thank You.

Nadav

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Obituaries in Boston Globe, Nashua Telegraph

Memorial Showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" - Details & Logistics

From Karen Kumm:

The Memorial Showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" will be held on Saturday evening, June 17th, at 7:25pm at Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema.

***** Please plan to be seated by 7:10. *****
Bob Cahalan has graciously agreed to speak briefly before the show about Yoram's work and how itrelates to Al Gore's story. The theater starts the "trailers" at 7:25 pm so please come early to hear Bob Cahalan and get a seat.

Tickets
Karen has purchased tickets for all those who contacted her to reserve tickets. She will be at front doors to the theater at 6:55 (30 minutes before the show) to distribute tickets. Karen will carry a picture of Yoram so that everyone can identify her.

If you haven't yet contacted Karen for a ticket, there still may be a few available. Please email her at kkumm@comcast.net

Otherwise, you can purchase advance tickets online. Click here to buy tickets online.

Parking
Parking is a challenge in Bethesda, but there are two parking facilities:
  • Lot 31 located diagonally across the intersection from the theater onBethesda Avenue and Woodmont Avenue
  • The 5 story parking garage mid-block between Bethesda Avenue, Elm Street and Woodmont Avenue.

After the Show

Afterwards, if the weather permits, we can all visit together at lovely plaza at the corner of Bethesda Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue, just one block east of the theater on Bethesda Avenue. There's an ice cream shop across the street for refreshments. Jean and the family are planning to join us for the film and hopefully afterwards as well.

Thank you all for celebrating Yoram's life with this memorial show.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

***An Inconvenient Truth*** ------- Please Reserve Tickets Now

From Karen Kumm:

If you would like to participate in the group tickets for the Memorial Showing of An Inconvenient Truth on the evening June 17th (that ensure a ticket to the show), I will be purchasing the vouchers on Monday afternoon. Please let me know ASAP if you want tickets (kkumm@comcast.net).

I can be reimbursed by a check in the mail or simply pay me on Saturday before the show. The Showtime will be around 7 to 7:30 pm. The theater informs us that they set the show times on Wednesday. That is when I'll turn in the vouchers for a specific show. We will update the blog at that time.

Also, I plan to be at the theater 30 minutes early so that everyone can pick up their tickets. I'll have a picture of Yoram so that everyone can identify me. Before the showing, there will be a short commentary on Yoram's work and how it advanced our understanding of global warming. Thank you all for coming.

Karen Kumm Morris
3725 N. Delaware Street
Arlington, Va. 22207

10 or 11 Days

It is just after midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning.

10 days since Dad's death, 11 days since I hugged him that one last time in his hospital bed and put my head on his chest and said goodbye. It wasn't really him breathing anymore...it was just the ventilator pumping air into his lungs and letting it out.

The most painful, expressive emotions for me have mostly passed. But there is still this great pain just below the surface. It's not as sharp, but this one doesn't come and go...it just lingers, tugs, throbs.

I'll have to get back to the real world soon. Back home to NJ. Back to cutting the grass...walking the dog in the park by my house...Back to work. Back to e-mail, and project plans, and conference calls and deadlines and voice-mails. Back to the real world.

I call it the "real world" because where I am now - both physically and emotionally - is still so surreal. I can't shake that feeling. I can't comprehend that I won't see my father in the flesh ever again. No more calling him, talking to him, marveling at him. No more quiet evenings for Amy and I with Mom and Dad talking until we doze off one by one.
I keep feeling like I'll hear that garage door any minute and it will be him. He's going to walk in the door soon...I just know it. No, I don't. It's over. He's not coming back. Really, he's not. I keep telling myself that but I just won't sink in.

I only have one more full day here before I need to go home to NJ. So, what will it be like to go home? To go to work? Should I bring pictures of him? Will it be like sitting Shiva, only in the office? Will I be able to re-focus on work?

What will it be like to come back here to Mom's house? There are pictures of Dad everywhere now, and he is always smiling. Seeing them makes me smile for a moment, and then the pain returns. I miss that smile terribly.

We're visiting the grave tomorrow morning. Mom really likes the site we chose: under a nice maple tree. Dad always liked seeing lots of green...I think he would have liked the tree, too. I just wish I could show him - and see him smile one more time.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Washington Post Obituary

Please read the excellent obituary written in The Washington Post by Matt Schudel

You'll need to sign in to read beyond the 1st paragraph, but it's free and doesn't take long to register.

Our thanks to Matt Schudel for writing a thorough, well-researched article.

- The Kaufman Family

Thursday, June 08, 2006

A Last Thank You - by Laurie David

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Image of the Day - Remembering Yoram Kaufman


NASA's Earth Observatory web site is featuring a Memorial to Dad as their "Image of the Day" for June 7th, 2006.

The images are followed by a discussion of some of Dad's recent contributions to our understanding of the Earth's climate system.

Be sure to click on some of the links under "Further Reading" at the bottom of the article.

Also, I highly recommend exploring the Earth Observatory site. It is very rich with fascinating content.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Memorial Showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" on June 17th

From Karen Kumm:

The Planning Commission group has organized a memorial showing of Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, in honor of your Yoram. The movie theater is Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema. The date is June 17th, Saturday, in the evening. The theater will allow us to dedicate the showing and say a few words in memory of Yoram and his work on climate change and global warming. We don't know the exact time in the evening yet, to be announced.

The theater encourages us to purchase presale tickets at a group rate of $7 (a savings of $2 each). It is still a public showing and presales ensure that everyone who wants to come will have a ticket. I'll be the contact for group tickets.

We welcome all NASA, friends and family. Thanks. Karen kkumm@comcast.net

Friday, June 02, 2006

Data Silences In Memory of Yoram Kaufman

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, a Memorial for Yoram Kaufman is being held this Sunday 1-4 PM in Goddard's blg 8 auditorium. During this time to honor Yoram, there will be a brief ceasing of "business as usual," with environmental data silence of MODIS, MISR, CERES, AERONET and certain websites on Sunday during part of the memorial. Websites being hosted on climate.gsfc.nasa.gov in Yoram's home Goddard branch will be temporarily redirected to a memorial page during that brief time on Sunday: http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/YoramKaufman/

Several of us will visit with the family during the following week. Later there will be other opportunities to honor Yoram's memory. Thank you for being especially understanding while we grieve for our loss of a family member, close friend and honored colleague, Yoram Kaufman.

Best regards,
Dr. Robert F. Cahalan (Bob)
Head, Climate and Radiation Branch, NASA/GSFC

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In respect and commemoration for Yoram and his contributions to the success of our missions, the Terra spacecraft will observe a moment of silence on Sunday June 4th, 2006.

Instruments onboard the spacecraft will stop observations during this period - Lat 40.86 / Long -79.26 while passing directly over Goddard Space Flight Center. This moment of silence will occur at 155/16:08:52z to 16:09:52z (12:08:52 pm eastern time).

With Respect,
The EOS Flight Operations Team

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoram was key to the inception, development and success of AERONET. He was our greatest cheerleader through his innovative use of the data. In honor of Yoram, I have asked Ilya Slutsker to create a permanent two hour 'data silence' in our world wide data base from 1600 to 1800 UTC on Sunday 4 June, 2006. This coincides with our Memorial Celebration and a data silence from Terra and Aqua as they overpass Goddard on Sunday.

Brent Holben
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is a deep regret to know about the death of such outstanding scientists as Yoram Kaufman. We present our condolences to his relatives, friends and colleagues with respect to this bereavement.
AEROSIBNET will perform two hour 'data silence' in our world wide data base from 1600 to 1800 UTC on Sunday 4 June, 2006 in memory of our colleague.

On behalf of scientists of Institute of Atmospheric Optics and all participants of the network AEROSIBNET: Panchenko, Sakerin, Kabanov, Zhuravleva, Turchinovich, Belov, Afonin, Shchelkanov, Terpugova, Kornienko, Nikolashkin, Tashchilin, Mikhalev,
Beresnev, Gorda, Poddubn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoram's colleagues at Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in France have arranged for the POLDER instrument on the PARASOL satellite to observe a momentary data silence on Sunday June 4th, 2006, to coincide with the data silences on Terra and Aqua.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The data silence will also be observed by the SKYNET observation network, which includes 12 sites in Eastern Asia from Mongolia to Thailand, as well as in Japan. Two sites of special mention:

  • The SKYNET site operated by the Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, Chiba University, Chiba, JAPAN
  • The SKYNET Hefei instruments, operated by Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics), Chinese Academy of Sciences


Background/Accident Info Updated

I have updated the description of the accident with some additional information I've received.
Please click here to read the updated version.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Shiva

To mourn our loss and in keeping with the Jewish tradition, the family will be sitting Shiva for the week following the funeral in our home. As Shiva is not observed on Shabbat, the Shiva will extend through the evening of Friday, June 9th.

We welcome all visitors to our home during this time of mourning and reflection. For more information about visiting during Shiva, please click here.

To get information on our home address or driving directions, please e-mail Nadav at nadavkaufman@yahoo.com

Thank You,

-The Kaufman Family

Jean's e-Mail

So many of you have sent wonderful, heart-felt e-mails to my e-mail address. While the messages bring tears to our eyes, they also serve as a continuing reminder of how Dad touched so many people.

Please feel free to continue to e-mail me at nadavkaufman@yahoo.com
To send e-mails directly to Jean (my Mom and Yoram's wife), please send to: jeanbkaufman@yahoo.com

Thanks again for all of your support. It is extraordinarily meaningful in this difficult time.