Remembering Adam Showman

Oh no! Just heard this news. Adam and I didn't know each other at Stanford, but were there at the same time and later shared many common memories. He was a good friend during grad school at Caltech, and he always made me laugh with some clever, crazy idea or joke. I have seen him only intermittently in the past 20 years, but I will still really miss him. Great scientist, great human being. 

I was very sorry and shocked to hear of Adam's passing.  My husband and I used to go on hikes with Adam, his wife Lija and their daughter Arwin, who is my daughter's age, back when I was at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at UA and living in Tucson.  We moved away five years ago and we've not kept in touch.  Adam was a kind hearted and very gifted scientist.  My heart goes out to his family at this difficult time.  

I consider myself infinitely fortunate to have known Adam and to have attended several of his planetary science courses. He combined an intimidating scientific insight with encouragement that made you feel you could also contribute to science. His approach to teaching continues to inspire my own instruction -- rigor tempered with empathy and patience.

Adam was a wonderful scientist and an even better person.  His loss is a major blow to the planetary sciences and the University of Arizona.

Adam's passing is devastating news. As a beginning Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, he accepted a joint position with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and worked to rebuild ATMO when we were threatened with closure in the early oughts. His contributions to our program were critical to our survival and later successes. Adam was a kind, giving soul. Our thoughts go to his family, loved ones, and colleagues. He will be missed by all who knew him.

I was shocked and saddened by the news. Adam was a kind, optimistic, and brilliant colleague. Besides outstanding achievements in his field, he contributed to the teaching of advanced atmospheric dynamics in our Department, and helped strengthen the interaction between LPL and our department. This is a big loss for our department, LPL, and our university. My heart goes to his family, and my his soul rest in peace!

I am very sad to hear these news.  My wife and I knew Adam when he arrived at the UofA.  He was so fun, very unique.  A great scientist, but very human and down to earth.

I remember Adam as a child, a teen, a beloved son and grandson, a dad.  We were proud of him as a scientist, and loved his sense of humor and his playfulness. He was much loved, and will be much missed.

Adam's family was extremely proud of him as a scientist, but also enchanted by his humor and his joy in life. He was a much loved son, brother, father, uncle,and nephew, and will be terribly missed by all. 

I am very shock and sadden by this news. I'm one of his friend in China. I hope I could express my condolences to his parents and daughter by email. I would appreciate it if someone could help me to connect Pete or Dinah.  My email is  cocotuckwell @ hotmail . com  . Thanks.

I loved Adam for his incredible knowledge and wonderful gift of being able to explain it well to anyone. He always treated people with dignity in conversation. Because of all this, he was a fantastic scientist and teacher. He will be missed!  —Jess Vriesema

I met Adam Showman in 1998 when we were both young Ph.D. students working on similar topics on two sides of the Atlantic. He was brilliant then and quickly became a great scientist with an original approach to difficult problems, deep knowledge and a broad view of the different topics he mastered. He was always a kind, gentle and open person who with you could always share good moments. I met him many many times over the years and I will miss talking with him about science and anything else. All that we knew him at work will miss him as the brilliant scientist he became and the great person he always was.

For the past 6 years of my life, Adam Showman was a scientist that I looked up to with both awe and appreciation. I had only heard reference to his name and science from others around me during my undergraduate career, painted as a somewhat of a celebrity at first to me. 

My first real Showman experience was at a Division of Planetary Science Conference presentation session. He was the first one to ask questions up at the microphone after every speaker in the session, and he knew what questions to ask each speaker to blow them away, as well as blowing me away. I watched with awe, not only a scientific celebrity in my mind, but also a bold, sharp, engaging scientist.

Moving along into graduate school at the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, Showman is a professor that I end up taking several graduate classes from. He always made the time for my questions and endless office hours. He was so kind, he was the only professor available by text message to help solve radiative transfer problems! Always making sure that I understood when I really needed help, and for this I have great appreciation.

I considered him a physics mentor in my life, and grateful that I may at least carry those skills learned from him onwards into my planetary science career. As well as his ~200 pages of handwritten notes! They mean so much more than physics notes to me now.

I will never ever forget Adam’s involvement in the LPL grad skits. He taught me that professors can be fun and quirky and relatable - this made a big difference when I started grad school to help me feel comfortable approaching professors, quickening my transition to feeling like a colleague. I am extremely grateful to have taken Adam's planetary atmospheres and tectonics classes, which turned out to be more useful than I would know at the time, and to have been part of the "Showman Style" era of grad skits. My heart goes out to all in his professional network, and most especially his family. -Ali Bramson

I knew Adam for a long time in Tucson.  I think fondly of the times I went out painting with him, the time we went to Bisbee, or the times we went to lunch.  Adam was an amazing person, so accomplished, so smart and so kind.  My favorite story of Adam is far and away the following one:  We were at a local Chinese restaurant in Tucson.  Adam ordered in Chinese.  The waiter was visibly shocked that Adam was able to do so.  Here was this guy that looked not Chinese at all speaking Chinese.  A short while later, from where I was sitting, I could see the waiter and what appeared to be the cook looking at Adam through the window from the Kitchen.  The cook was watching us with rapt attention as the waiter walked up.  I’m pretty sure that there was a hefty wager involved.  The waiter asked Adam a question in Chinese, and Adam answered in Chinese.  The cook let out a very audible and very incredulous gasp.  He could not believe it!  It felt like I was eating with a rock star.  What a fond memory.  Adam was truly an exceptional person. 

It was a shock to hear about Adam and he will be much missed. He was memorably lively and distinctive. Adam was an undergrad at Stanford but came to Caltech to do undergrad research with me for one summer. When he arrived, I recognised him out of a crowd (from the back) because of his distinctive blond hair. He subsequently was admtted to grad school by us but then went off to China to teach English for a year . Most of his grad work was with Andy Ingersoll , but he also worked with Renu Malhotra (then a postdoc here) and me on tidal heating in Ganymede (still an unsolved possibility). He also joined a group I led of students who backpacked in the Sierras for days (Mineral King up to Franklin Pass and nearby). 

I met Adam in 1992 when we both entered Caltech as graduate students in planetary sciences.  We were both interested in atmospheres.

Adam was very smart and creative, a really nice guy and funny.  We had a few very important personal conversations over the years that certainly steered my life.

I remember going on a double date to Magic Mountain which I believe was his first date with Lijie.

We both ended up at University of Arizona until I left in 2012 for the private sector better suited to accomplishing my visions

I remember some fun times our families spent together with our young kids.

I was principal investigator (PI) and Adam was Deputy PI on our MACO (Mars Atmospheric Climate Observatory) proposal to NASA we developed in 2006-2007.  With the help of Adam’s insight, it received an unusual level of excitement from the NASA science panel but was too technologically ambitious for its time.  We envisioned the same mission orbiting Titan which Adam named TACO, with a smile on his face of course.

He reminded me of this a month ago in an email.  He said he was thinking of a major career change.  We were going to talk more when I was less busy with deadlines, but now he is gone.  Beyond unbelievable.  

I will miss him and our thoughts go out to his family, particularly Arwen.

Adam's passing surely was shocking and tragic news.  I'll share a memory I have with Adam: The Division of Planetary Sciences meeting was held in Ithaca, NY in 2008.  The meeting planners had hired a live band for the banquet, and they were playing swing and jazz music.  Adam asked me to dance, and we did for a song.  So we can add dancing to Adam's list of talents!

I first met Adam in the ballroom dance class at Caltech when we were both graduate students.  He was a good dance partner both for his skill and for being a nice guy.  At the time, we were in different fields, but my interests moved closer to his, so I periodically saw him at conferences and meetings.  I appreciated his insights on (exo)planetary atmospheres, and I will miss all he could have contributed to the field, with both his skill and for being a nice guy.