Meteorologist awarded poignant honour

20 Feb 2024

Professor David Schultz receives the Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to the Atmospheric and Related Sciences

Professor Schultz, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, received the Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to the Atmospheric and Related Sciences at the recent 2024 American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting. 

The award is presented to an individual on the basis of activities that have materially contributed to the progress of the atmospheric and related sciences or to the application of the atmospheric and related sciences to general, social, economic, or humanitarian welfare. 

The award citation for Professor Schultz states that it was made "for outstanding contributions to scientific leadership in a broad range of atmosphere-related domains with tireless dedication to scientific communication, peer review, education and research excellence".

The award is named after Cleveland Abbe, a key figure in the first several decades of the US National Weather Service and the influential and longest-serving editor of the 151-year-old journal Monthly Weather Review. It is a particularly poignant honour for Professor Schultz as he has recently stepped down after 15 years as Chief Editor of the Review, making him the third-longest serving editor.

Professor David Schultz said: "Given the stature of previous awardees who were, for example, heads of government agencies and top-notch researchers, I was surprised to receive this award. Cleveland Abbe was the long-time editor of the journal that I served for over 20 years, so it is an honour to have received the award named after him. Editorship was an enjoyable experience that taught me a lot about peer review and leadership."