Two PSL Scientists Elected as AMS Fellows
November 14, 2007
 Henry Diaz |
 Marty Ralph |
Two scientists from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratories, Physical Sciences Division (PSL) have been elected as Fellows of the American Meteorological Society. Formal announcement of Henry Diaz and Marty Ralph's election will be made at the AMS 88th Annual Review and Fellows Awards on 20 January 2008, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.
Background:
For the past 30 years, Dr. Diaz has a contributed to groundbreaking work on
a variety of diverse topics such as the El Niño/Southern
Oscillation, climate reconstructions from pollen and tree rings, the
effects of urbanization on climate records, and the economic and social
impacts of climatic fluctuations. As a strong proponent of a
multidisciplinary approach to the study of climate variability, Dr. Diaz
has forged collaborations with a wide range of experts in subfields of
climate research. He has authored or co-authored over 50 publications in
refereed journals and organized more than a dozen highly interactive
international workshops to examine multiple lines of evidence concerning
the origin of climate changes.
Over many years, Dr. Ralph has developed a strong research team as the lead of the PSL's Water Cycle Branch, and formed numerous collaborations with other research organizations. The focus of his research has been on high impact weather in coastal areas and in linking weather and climate processes to the needs of users. This work has led to a better understanding of coastal weather dynamics and in the identification of "atmospheric rivers" as major factor in extreme events leading to flooding and debris flows. He has organized many meetings to obtain input from the user community; worked with NWS Office of Hydrology to develop the Hydrometeorlogy Testbed concept; helped advance 0-48 hour cool season precipitation forecasting with the U. S. Weather Research Program; and has acted as Program Manager for NOAA's Science Technology and Infusion Program transitioning research to operations.
Significance:
The American Meteorological Society is widely respected as the leading professional society in the Atmospheric Sciences. The honor of AMS Fellow is given to individuals in recognition of outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences, or their applications during a substantial period. Only two-tenths of one percent of the AMS membership is approved as Fellow each year.
| Contact: Barb DeLuisi |