Suranjana Saha PhD

Obituary for Suranjana Saha, written by Huug van den Dool, her husband. It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that my wife Dr. Suranjana Saha died Dec. 19, 2024 at 8:51pm. She lived in University Park, MD with her husband Huug van den Dool and sister Manju. Suru (as she was known) died peacefully in her sleep. She was at the end of a long battle with cancer. This disease was officially diagnosed in June 2020, but the symptoms (unrecognized as such at first) were there already in February 2019 when she still worked for NOAA. Few people are able to battle such a ferocious enemy for so long, almost 6 years, but Suru was a fighter until the very end. Initially she went through very challenging surgeries and was able to survive them and recover largely. After challenging rounds of chemotherapy, she returned to an almost normal life in early 2022. We were quite happy in '22 and '23 and made many trips around the US. Unfortunately, by the end of 2023 the disease, which had never gone away completely, became harder to control, and by the summer of 2024 it became a losing battle. Just in time we had an unforgettable party for her 70th birthday. She appeared to be quite healthy to the world, but we knew better.Suru wanted to die in her own bed, and she did. Manju and I were able to take care of her all the way to the end. In October she was enrolled in hospice care, so we had plenty assistance from many wonderful people. Although dying is a difficult process, there were wonderful moments each day all the way to the end. She was hoping very much we would remember the good things, not the bad that are also on your way near life's end. Suru was born in Calcutta July 27, 1954. She was the youngest of five children. She was a good pupil in elementary and secondary school; nothing less was expected of course in a very intellectual family. Anything less than a physics PhD did not count for much in the family, so that is what Suru did. In 1983 Suru moved to the US driven by the opportunities that the US offers. In the US she had a great career, getting involved in bigger and bigger projects in Atmospheric Sciences. She was central in organizing the work for the Climate Forecast System at the National Weather Service at NOAA. At the time of her passing these models are still running operationally, 4 times a day, many ensemble members etc. It is a rare tribute to her power that the forecasts are continuing even after her death. The number of citations that she has currently is about 58 thousand. She was a highly cited author in geo-sciences. Suru touched many people in her life. Aside from being a scientist she stood out as deeply caring about other people and went out of way to find solutions for other people. Suru is survived by me (her husband) and sister in University Park, by one brother in India, one sister in Kansas, their spouses and seven nieces and nephews (all in the US). Let's remember the many good things.Suru cremation will be on Dec. 27 for family and a few friends only. A memorial service will be held on Friday Jan, 3, 2025 at the Advent Funeral & Cremation Service in Lanham, MD. Huug van den Dool, husband of Suru, University Park