NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has announced its 2026 Awards and Honors recipients, recognizing outstanding contributions to the weather, water and climate community. Several individuals connected with the National Weather Center (NWC) at the University of Oklahoma were named as award winners.
“I’m so proud of being associated with the NWC and the entire weather community in Norman. This recent recognition from the AMS has raised the awareness of the unique environment we have in the NWC complex,” said Robert Palmer, Director of the NWC and Dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences.
Service Excellence Recognition
Renee McPherson has received the Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to the Atmospheric and Related Sciences. This award recognizes her "extraordinary efforts to develop programs, tools, and relationships to translate weather and climate information for use by communities." McPherson has also been elected as a new AMS Fellow. McPherson is a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability and the director of the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Mentorship and Education Leadership
Harold Brooks, a senior scientist with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory and an adjunct faculty member in the School of Meteorology, has been honored with the Robert H. and Joanne Simpson Mentorship Award. The award recognizes his "steadfast mentorship of multiple generations of scholars, especially students, and those working in interdisciplinary and international arenas."
Editor's Awards and Professional Service
Ben Schenkel, a research scientist with the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO), was recognized with an Editor's Award for his exceptional service to both the Journal of Climate and Monthly Weather Review.
Steven Cavallo, professor in the School of Meteorology, received a Cross-Journal Editor's Award, recognizing his valuable contributions across multiple AMS publications.
Other New AMS Fellows
The following individuals have also been elected as new AMS Fellows, recognizing their outstanding contributions to atmospheric and related sciences:
Honorary Members
Frederick H. Carr, professor emeritus and former director of the School of Meteorology, was named an AMS Honorary Member.
Alumni Recognition
Alumni Bradford Barrett and Kimberly Klockow McClain were both recognized. Barrett received the Charles E. Anderson Award for “fostering collaborations through courageous personal engagement with scientists and students in both the U.S. and Latin America,” and Klockow McClain was named an AMS Fellow.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Three University of Oklahoma graduate students have been named winners of the 2025 Three Minute Thesis competition, which challenges participants to explain their research in three minutes to a non-specialist audience.
Sarah Sharif, a researcher with the University of Oklahoma, has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to create innovative light detectors that pick up mid-wave and long-wave infrared signals at higher temperatures than previously considered achievable.
A team from OU and WVU recently earned a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how concept cigarillos influence the potential for addiction. The results will be used to inform the FDA’s impending flavor ban on cigar products and could have wider-reaching implications for other tobacco products that come in flavors, such as e-cigarettes and tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
