Andrew E. Dessler, Jose L. Jimenez, Stephen A. Klein, and Athanasios Nenes received 2012 Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Awards at the 2012 AGU Fall Meeting, held 3–7 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “research contributions by exceptional mid-career scientists in the fields of atmospheric and climate sciences.”
Citation
The Atmospheric Sciences section of AGU awards one of the four Ascent Awards to Professor Andrew E. Dessler of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University for fundamental contributions to the understanding of stratospheric-tropospheric exchange processes and the physics of ozone depletion and for attempts to unravel water vapor and cloud feedbacks in the climate system. In addition, he is commended for his ceaseless work in communicating the science of climate change to the public.
His letters of recommendation speak to his work and “path breaking” and imparting of a “major impact on science and on dissemination.” His work on climate feedbacks is described as “pioneering,” and his accomplishments “have enhanced our understanding and assessment of the intricate play among water vapor, clouds, and surface temperature increase in the Earth’s atmosphere.”
Andrew E. Dessler is well worthy of an Ascent Award and personifies exceptional scientific accomplishments in a field of difficult but important science.
—PETER J. WEBSTER, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaResponse
I’d like to thank the Atmospheric Sciences Section Award Committee for this recognition.
I’d like to say that I’m humbled to join the illustrious group of former winners, but because this is the first time the award has been given, I leave that platitude for next year’s winners. Most of all, I’d like to acknowledge the entire climate science community. Over the last several decades, thousands of us have devoted our professional lives to studying climate, and the community has done a remarkable job of working out the physics of the problem. Ignored by many, demonized by some, I believe that future generations will look back and say, “They nailed it.” It has been an honor to work with all of you on this problem.
—ANDREW E. DESSLER, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station