LEADING meteorology scientists at the University of Reading have received awards for their dedication to developing weather research.
The Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) awards for 2022 were handed out on Wednesday, July 19, and saw Reading’s Prof Ed Hawkins, Dr Roger Brugge, Prof David Brayshaw and Prof Lawrence all honoured.
Prof Ed Hawkins was given the Hugh Robert Mill Award for Precipitation Research for his Rainfall Rescue project.
He said: “As a nation, we love talking about the weather, and rainfall in particular. Recent experiences with droughts and floods across the UK have highlighted the need to learn more about past variations in rainfall to put these events into a longer-term context.
“The resulting data are now incorporated into the official UK rainfall statistics and have dramatically improved our estimates of rainfall patterns back to the early 1800s.”
Prof Brayshaw received The Adrian Gill Award for Advances at the Interface of Atmospheric Science and Related Disciplines for his work applying the science of weather and climate to the increasingly important challenges facing the energy sector.
He said: “The last decade has seen rapid change in energy systems as they move away from ‘traditional’ fossil-fuel generation towards incorporating large volumes of ‘variable’ weather-dependent renewables.
“It has been incredibly exciting to work on developing the meteorological tools and understanding required to support this much-needed transition.”
The Award for Innovation in Development of Computational Models, Tools or Visualisation was handed to Prof Lawrence. He played a key role in the instigation and subsequent evolution of the JASMIN data analysis facility, which was set up to support the analysis of large archived datasets.
Dr Brugge picked up the Award for Outstanding Contribution to The Society or Profession for his lifelong dedication to engaging in meteorological outreach in the community, supporting amateur groups, and ensuring the university’s long weather records are accessible to a wider audience.
“I was really surprised, and honoured, to receive this award from the RMetS,” he explained.
“I developed an interest in the weather, and later meteorology in general, as a schoolboy running my own do-it-yourself back garden weather station in Manchester, partly inspired by a geography teacher who used to display the Daily Weather Report on his noticeboard.
“Making and using weather observations has always been a part of my life – maybe why I have always been keen to travel to schools with a car boot full of equipment to show how ‘things are done’ and to enthuse others.
“Little did I know when I first got interested in the weather, just how important the subject would become to everyone by the time I retired, after a research career in meteorology and oceanography, in 2022.”
