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 Jose-Luis Jimenez of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder. The award is made for the development and utilization of innovative measurement technology to address critical aspects relating to the sources, transformations, and environmental fates of fine atmospheric particles.
The letters of nomination note the prolific and highly cited publication record of Professor Jimenez and his group that is almost unprecedented for a mid-career scientist. It was also highlighted that he has played a leading role in a large number of field experiments. Perhaps Professor Jimenez’s career can be summarized best by the following statement from his nomination letter: “Professor Jimenez is without question a brilliant and productive atmospheric scientist, a wonderful mentor, and a leader in his field.”
Professor Jimenez is well worthy of an Ascent Award through thoughtful and important research that has been disseminated broadly in the literature and is having a major impact on the atmospheric sciences.
—PETER J. WEBSTER, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaResponse
I am honored and humbled to receive the 2012 Ascent Award from AGU. Not so long ago, I remember being amazed by the energy, excitement, and rigor that I witnessed at my first AGU Fall Meeting in 1999. I have been lucky to participate in a period of rapid learning about the composition and sources of aerosols at a time when science is increasingly collaborative. There is still much to be learned in this and related fields to have confidence in our predictions of climate forcing and air quality, and I look forward to many more collaborations and AGU Fall Meetings during the second half of my career.
There are many people I would like to thank. I have had excellent mentors during my career, but I owe special thanks to Doug Worsnop for his unrelenting support and for being a truly inspiring role model, always ready to answer any question or be challenged into an interesting discussion. The many talented members of my research group, past and present, have made research invigorating and taught me how to be a better mentor. The Aerodyne mass spectrometer communities have been an example of cooperation and a constant source of interesting ideas and discussions. I have been fortunate to collaborate widely across our community, including several intense field studies, and I am grateful to the many researchers I have worked with in the process. And, of course, none of this would have been possible without the support and encouragement of my wife, Yumi; my family; and my good friends. I dedicate this award to them.
—JOSE L. JIMENEZ, University of Colorado Boulder