NCAR and UCAR staff receive high accolades from AMS
Researchers and educators lauded for advancing Earth system science
Aug 12, 2020 - by Staff
Scientists and educators at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and its managing organization, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), have won prestigious honors from one of the nation's leading science organizations: the American Meteorological Society. Announced by the AMS last week, the awards will be presented during the January 2021 annual meeting of the society.
"The AMS awards put a national spotlight on the talent and dedication of eight outstanding individuals who exemplify the breadth and depth of our research and education activities in weather, water, and climate science across NCAR and UCAR," said UCAR President Antonio Busalacchi. "Congratulations to them all for this important recognition."
NCAR Senior Scientist Clara Deser won the Jule J. Charney Medal for achieving "fundamental insights into the structure, genesis, and predictability of decadal variability in the atmosphere, ocean, and cryosphere." Deser leads the Climate Analysis Section of NCAR's climate modeling laboratory. She is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union as well as the AMS, and won the 1999 AMS Clarence Leroy Meisinger award for early career achievement.
Educators Lisa Gardiner and Becca Hatheway of the UCAR Center for Science Education, along with Kerry Zarlengo of Colorado's Jeffco Public Schools (retired), received the Louis J. Battan Authors' Award in the K-12 category for What’s Up in the Atmosphere? Exploring Colors in the Sky. The AMS citation lauds the book as "a delightful, comprehensive story that walks young children through the scientific process to explore aerosols and air quality measurement."
Four NCAR staff members were named AMS Fellows: Rebecca Haacker, director of Education and Outreach; and senior scientists Marika Holland, Jean-François Lamarque, and Laura Pan. AMS Fellows are recognized for "outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years." No more than 0.2 percent of AMS members may be elected new Fellows in any year.
NCAR scientist Daniel Whitt won the AMS Journal of Physical Oceanography Editor's Award. These awards recognize researchers for outstanding scientific reviews of articles proposed for publication in the society's peer-reviewed journals.