Edwin Kessler III (December 2, 1928 – February 21, 2017)[1] was an American atmospheric scientist who oversaw the development of Doppler weather radar and was the first director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).

After early years in New York City, Marie, Edwin, and the other sons went to live in his mother's home town of Corpus Christi, Texas, while his father was in the military overseas.

He became a captain in the Air Force Reserve where he worked in the Weather Radar Branch and was chief of the Synoptic Meteorology Section at the Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRC).

In 1964 Kessler moved back west to Oklahoma where he was the first director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman where he contributed as a researcher and as a manager.

[2] Kessler served on advisory panels for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and for NASA, as well as to organizations in foreign countries including Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

[6] Kessler authored or coauthored more than 250 peer reviewed papers, as well as published numerous reports, conference presentations, books, and monographs.

He received the AMS Cleveland Abbe Award for "distinguished service through studies on severe storms, microphysical processes and radar meteorology".

[2] He joined other scientists, including Chuck Doswell,[8] in opposing the funding scheme proposed to construct what became the National Weather Center (NWC) building, as it diverted funds from a state program to remediate leaking underground oil storage tanks.