American Meteorological Society announces 2025 weather, water, and climate honorees

Awardees, new AMS Fellows, and Honorary Members of the AMS will be recognized at the AMS 105th Annual Meeting.

2024-08-27

(Press-News.org) The American Meteorological Society is proud to announce its 2025 Awards and Honors, recognizing outstanding contributions to the weather, water, and climate community. 2025 recipients will be honored at the 105th AMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, 12–16 January, 2025.

“One of our key priorities at AMS is to recognize the work of our global weather, water, and climate enterprise for the impact they have on scientific advancement and public safety, as well as on economic growth for all communities,” says Awards Oversight Committee Chair and AMS Past President Brad Colman. “This year’s AMS honorees have done incredibly significant work. For example, they warned the public of dangerous wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma; contributed to our understanding of atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic dynamics, including climate change; refined modeling and forecasting techniques; and helped make our field more accessible and equitable. We thank them for their contributions and our community for their nominations, and we look forward to celebrating our honorees in New Orleans.”

Below are the AMS honorees for 2025.

Honorary Members AMS Honorary Members are “persons of acknowledged preeminence in the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences, either through their own contributions to the sciences or their application or through furtherance of the advance of those sciences in some other way.” The following people are named AMS Honorary Members:

Robert A. Houze, Jr. Anne M. Thompson Peter J. Webster Science and Technology Medals THE CARL-GUSTAF ROSSBY RESEARCH MEDAL

Awarded to Graeme Stephens, for breakthroughs in understanding how radiation, clouds, and precipitation shape climate system feedbacks by driving the design of innovative Earth observation platforms and their applications.

THE HYDROLOGIC SCIENCES MEDAL

Awarded to Gabriel Katul, for groundbreaking work expanding and advancing the theoretical foundations of the hydrologic cycle and incorporating aspects of atmospheric thermodynamics and plant physiology.

THE HENRY STOMMEL RESEARCH MEDAL

Awarded to Amy Bower, for forging enhanced understanding of the ocean’s circulation, dynamics of deep flow pathways, and the meridional overturning.

THE SVERDRUP GOLD MEDAL

Awarded to Wenju Cai, for exceptional and sustained contributions to understanding of ocean and atmosphere interactions in climate responses to global warming.

THE VERNER E. SUOMI TECHNOLOGY MEDAL

Awarded to Dennis Baldocchi, for pioneering work estimating surface-atmosphere exchanges, leadership in establishing global flux networks for terrestrial biomes, and exemplary collaboration with scientists around the world.

THE JULE G. CHARNEY MEDAL

Awarded to Renyi Zhang, for exceptional contributions and exemplary leadership in advancing understanding of atmospheric chemical and physical mechanisms influencing air pollution, weather extremes, climate, and public health.

THE WARREN WASHINGTON RESEARCH AND LEADERSHIP MEDAL

Awarded to Chidong Zhang, for elucidating critical phenomena of the coupled atmosphere-ocean system, especially the Madden-Julian Oscillation, through innovative research and exceptional leadership of international observational programs.

Science and Technology Prizes THE JAGADISH SHUKLA EARTH SYSTEM PREDICTABILITY PRIZE

Awarded to Xuguang Wang, for outstanding contributions to both theoretical development and operational implementation of novel data assimilation methods that have enhanced predictability of global, hurricane, and convective-scale models.

Service Awards THE CHARLES FRANKLIN BROOKS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE SOCIETY

Awarded to Alice DuVivier, for exceptional organization and creative leadership for the Polar Meteorology and Oceanography community.

THE CLEVELAND ABBE AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE ATMOSPHERIC AND RELATED SCIENCES

Awarded to James Kinter, for scientific leadership in Earth system modeling, predictability and seasonal forecasting, and service to the operational forecasting and high performance computing communities.

Teaching and Mentorship Awards THE EDWARD N. LORENZ TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD

Awarded to Martin Baxter, for selfless dedication and persistence to teaching and mentoring, tireless advocacy and support for all students, and innovative strategies for preparing students for any career path.

THE ROBERT H. AND JOANNE SIMPSON MENTORSHIP AWARD

Awarded to Eve Gruntfest, for building a community of hundreds of social and physical scientists across the enterprise who continue to collaborate and mentor younger generations.

Awards for Outstanding Contributions THE KENNETH C. SPENGLER AWARD

Awarded to Steven Root, for his outstanding leadership creating understanding and partnership among the three sectors of the weather enterprise and his overall contributions to its growth.

THE JOANNE SIMPSON TROPICAL METEOROLOGY RESEARCH AWARD

Awarded to Matthew C. Wheeler, for groundbreaking contributions to observational and theoretical understanding of equatorial waves and the MJO, advancing research and operational applications.

THE SYUKURO MANABE CLIMATE RESEARCH AWARD

Awarded to Natalie Mahowald, for revealing biogeochemical feedbacks on climate using Earth System Models to interpret observations and predict global and regional impacts.

THE HENRY T. HARRISON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS BY A CONSULTING METEOROLOGIST

Awarded to Lee Branscome, CCM, for brilliantly fulfilling the demand for weather and climate effects on business activities, and for distinguished contributions as researcher, professor, and volunteer in the field.

THE CHARLES E. ANDERSON AWARD

Awarded to Reginald Blake, for being a selfless champion of BIPoC students, an inspiring mentor, and a treasured colleague who enriches DEIJ efforts in the atmospheric sciences.

THE HELMUT E. LANDSBERG AWARD

Awarded to Jorge Gonzalez-Cruz, for using modeling and observations to create societally significant contributions to our understanding of urban climate and land-use impacts in coastal California.

THE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOMETEOROLOGY

Awarded to Tilden Meyers, for developing innovative methodologies to study surface-atmosphere exchanges of mass, energy and momentum.

THE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOUNDARY-LAYER METEOROLOGY

Awarded to Peter P. Sullivan, for pioneering work in developing highly reliable large eddy simulations for innovative applications to the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers and air-sea interactions.

Special Awards Special Award to Cameron Nixon and Tim Supinie, for significant contributions to improving forecasts of severe storms through improved visualization and utilization of web-based hodographs.

Author and Journalism Awards THE AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SCIENCE JOURNALISM IN THE ATMOSPHERIC AND RELATED SCIENCES

Awarded to Sarah Kaplan, Bonnie Jo Mount, Simon Ducroquet, Frank Hulley-Jones and Emily Wright, for in-depth, innovative reporting that explores global impacts of climate change and highlights how paleoclimate research helps humanity prepare for a warmer future.

Broadcast Meteorology Awards THE JUNE BACON-BERCEY AWARD FOR BROADCAST METEOROLOGY

Awarded to Veronica Johnson, for significant contributions through her 37-year career, including accurate and reliable forecasting, activities to promote equity and inclusion, and ongoing community engagement and mentoring.

THE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE REPORTING BY A BROADCAST METEOROLOGIST

Awarded to Deborah Martorell, for visually compelling stories spanning diverse subjects from local environmental impacts to astronomy, with extensive research and sourcing to produce consequential content on multiple platforms.

Early-Career Awards THE CLARENCE LEROY MEISINGER AWARD

Awarded to Hannah Christensen, for fundamental research and leadership in understanding and quantifying forecast uncertainty in weather and climate models.

THE AWARD FOR EARLY-CAREER PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Awarded to Annareli Morales, for advancing knowledge in mountain meteorology and highlighting the participation of Hispanic and Latinx communities in science and service throughout the Society..

THE NICHOLAS P. FOFONOFF AWARD

Awarded to Dhruv Balwada, for fundamental work characterizing tracer transport and energy transfers between mesoscale and submesoscale ocean flows.

THE HENRY G. HOUGHTON AWARD

Awarded to Nadir Jeevanjee, for providing robust and comprehensive theoretical frameworks to illuminate complex phenomena in climate physics.

Forecaster Awards THE AWARD FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL SPECIFIC PREDICTION

Awarded to Todd Lindley and NWS Amarillo, TX, NWS Norman, OK, Oklahoma Forestry Services, Texas A&M Forest Service, for collaborative issuance of life-saving fire warnings and wind shift forecasts during the disastrous Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma fires in February 2024.

AMS Chapter Awards LOCAL CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Awarded to the Blue Ridge Chapter of the AMS, for an unwavering pursuit in the professional development of members and a dedication to communities in Virginia through service, education, and awareness for meteorology and climatology.

STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Awarded to the Texas A&M Student Chapter of the AMS, for serving their members, the community, and the AMS at large through diversifying professional development, dedication to outreach, and community building opportunities.

Lectureship Awards The Society’s lectureships recognize outstanding mid-career scientists. Lectures will be delivered during the AMS 105th Annual Meeting.

THE WALTER ORR ROBERTS LECTURER: Ning Lin

For pioneering physics-based weather risk analysis by integrating state-of-the-art weather and risk modeling to understand hurricane hazards under climate change.

THE ROBERT E. HORTON LECTURER IN HYDROLOGY: Jessica Lundquist

For outstanding contributions to mountain hydrology, by significantly closing the gap between basic and applied research to enhance resilience in mountainous regions.

THE BERNHARD HAURWITZ MEMORIAL LECTURER: Simona Bordoni

For groundbreaking work and numerous contributions to understanding the dynamics of monsoons in the present and changing climates.

Editor's Awards The Editor’s Award is given to an individual for outstanding service to the AMS journals, the Glossary of Meteorology, and the Meteorological Monographs. Services may include providing exceptional reviews in a timely fashion, providing consistently helpful reviews, or providing reviews of difficult submissions, as well as other assistance to the publication. Editor’s award winners for 2025 are:

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

Patrick Michael Alexander Stephen Strader Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

William Cheng Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Young-Ha Kim Journal of Climate

Nathan Lenssen Ingo Richter Gan Zhang Journal of Hydrometeorology

Noah Samuel Brauer Journal of Physical Oceanography

Christopher Wolfe Varvara Zemskova Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

Eric Firing Monthly Weather Review

Lili Lei Yunji Zhang Weather and Forecasting AND Monthly Weather Review

Jeffrey Duda Weather, Climate, and Society

Veronica Makuvaro New AMS Fellows AMS Fellows are elected by the AMS Council based on “outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years." New AMS Fellows in 2025 are:

Randy Bass Melissa Burt Yi Chao Michael Farrar Katja Friedrich Andrew Gettelman Timothy Griffis Robert Hart Pam Heinselman Stephanie Herring Neil Jacobs Tristan L'Ecuyer Sharanya Majumdar Elizabeth Mulvihill (Page) Stephen Nesbitt Paul Roebber Christopher Ruf Remko Uijlenhoet Jordi Vilà-Guerau de Arellano Enrique Vivoni Muyin Wang Jun Wang Zong-Liang Yang Xuebin Zhang Learn more about AMS Awards and Honors here. View this year’s awardees online here.

About the American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society advances the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society. Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of around 12,000 professionals, students, and weather enthusiasts. AMS publishes 12 atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic science journals—in print and online; sponsors more than 12 conferences annually; and offers numerous programs and services. Visit us at https://www.ametsoc.org/.

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