René O. Ramseier was born in Switzerland on October 23, 1933. He received the Mechanical Engineering Diploma from the State Engineering College in Burgdorf, Switzerland, in 1956, the M.A. degree in physics from Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, in 1968, and the D.Sc. degree in applied sciences from Laval University in 1975.From 1959 to 1969, he was a research engineer and physicist at the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, NH. Since 1969, he has been with Environment Canada in Ottawa, where he is a senior scientist with the Atmospheric Environment Service. He is responsible for research and development for microwave remote sensing of floating ice.
Dr. Ramseier is a member of the American Physical Society, and past president of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.