Outstanding Accomplishment Awards

2003 Award winners and nominees

The 5 December all-staff party, sponsored by the Employee Activities Committee, continued the tradition of ringing in the holidays while recognizing the outstanding work of employees. A total of 17 nominations, comprising a record 68 individuals, were received for this year’s Outstanding Accomplishment Awards. For photos and complete coverage of the ceremony, please see the Staff Notes article.

Nominations and winners:
1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007

All Award Winners, 1967–present

2003 Winners

Distinguished Achievement Award
Kevin Trenberth (CGD) for his publication record, which is highly influential and widely cited, as well as for his participation on a large number of professional committees and panels and his substantial contribution to public outreach and education.

Outstanding Publication
Mark Rast (HAO) for the article, “The Thermal Starting Plume as an Acoustic Source” (published in 1999 in The Astrophysical Journal, 524, 462). This paper addresses the nature of the principal sources of acoustic emission inside the Sun—a major research area for helioseismic studies. Four years after its publication, the paper is recognized as a classic in the field.

Education and Outreach
Peter Burkholder, Lynne Davis, Ryan Deardorff, Holly Devaul, Katy Ginger, Eileen McIlvain, John Weatherley, and Marianne Weingroff (Digital Library for Earth System Education development team) for major new functionality and enhancement to DLESE that enables the library to better support the geosciences education community.

Scientific and Technical Accomplishment
David Allen, Jeff Bobka, and Clarke Chambellan (HAO), and Jerry Dryer, James Ellis, Ken Harris, Walt Hodshon, Ed Mores, Steve Palmer, Steve Rauenbuehler, Jose Rivas, Karl Schwenz, and Bart Woodiel (ATD’s Design and Fabrication Services staff) for executing three separate, exceptionally complex and urgent projects during the last three years. The projects are the Passing Efficiency for the Low Turbulence Inlet (PELTI) Experiment and the University of Denver Low Turbulence Inlet (DULTI) Development, the International H2O Project (IHOP 2002), and development of an innovative antenna designed for a new mobile rapid scan radar.

Administration
Peggy Taylor (ATD, recently retired) for her professional excellence associated with field deployment logistics for four ATD field programs, all of which proved exceptionally challenging. The four programs were the 1999 Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia/ Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (LBA/TRMM) project in Ji Parana, Brazil; the Mesoscale Alpine Project (MAP) in Virgiate, Italy, and Innsbruck, Austria; the Improvement of Microphysical Parameterization Through Observational Verification Experiment (IMPROVE I) project in Westport, Washington, and the IMPROVE II project near Sweethome, Oregon.

Other nominees

Distinguished Achievement Award

Gregory Byrd, Dolores Kiessling, Tim Alberta, Karl Hanzel, Ken Kim, Lorrie Fyffe, Seth Lamos, and Matthew Kelsch (COMET Residence Program Classroom Team) for providing outstanding learning experiences to the National Weather Service and other sponsoring agencies and to the university community in the area of mesoscale meteorology.

Outstanding publication

Given for published results of original research, review papers, pedagogically oriented books, or other contributions to atmospheric science, broadly defined; or works that connect atmospheric science with other disciplines or with matters of public policy.

David Parsons (ATD) for his work on three papers with various coauthors (Françoise Guichard of the Centre National Recherches Météorologiques, Météo-France, and CNRS; Jean-Luc Redelsperger of the Centre National Recherches Météorologiques; and Kunio Yoneyama of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center): 1) Yoneyama, K., and D. B. Parsons, 1999, “A Proposed Mechanism for the Intrusion of Dry Air into the Tropical Western Pacific Region,” J. Atmos. Sci. 56, 1524–1546; 2) Parsons, D., K. Yoneyama, and J.-L. Redelsperger, 2000, “The Evolution of the Tropical Western Pacific Atmosphere-Ocean System Following the Arrival of a Dry Instrusion,” Q. J. Roy. Meteor Soc., 126, 517–548; and 3) J.-L. Redelsperger, D. B. Parsons, and F. Guichard, 2002, “Recovery Processes and Factors Limiting Cloud-Top Height Following the Arrival of a Dry Intrusion Observed During TOGA COARE,” J. of the Atmos. Sci., 59, 2438–2457. The three papers explore the basic structure of the atmosphere over the tropical western Pacific and its relationship to clouds and rainfall.

Guifu Zhang, Ed Brandes, and J. Vivekanandan (RAP) for two papers: 1) Zhang, G., J. Vivekaandan, and E. Brandes, 2001, “A Method for Estimating Rain Rate and Drop Size Distribution from Polarimetric Radar Measurements,” IEEE Transactions of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 39:4, 830–841; and 2) Brandes, E., G. Zhang, and J. Vivekanandan, 2003, “An Evaluation of a Drop Distribution-Based Polarimetric Radar Rainfall Estimator,” J. Applied Met., 42, 652–660. These papers describe a new technique for retrieval of cloud microphysical parameters from dual-polarization radar measurements.

Christopher Davis and Jordan Powers (MMM) for their work with Lance Bosart (State University of New York at Albany) on three papers referred to as the “Diana Papers”: 1) Davis, C.A., and L.F. Bosart, 2001, “Numerical Simulations of the Genesis of Hurricane Diana. Part I: Control Simulation,” Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 1859–1881; 2) Davis, C.A., and L.F. Bosart, 2002, “Numerical Simulations of the Genesis of Hurricane Diana, Part II: Sensitivity of Track and Intensity Prediction,” Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 1100–1124; 3) Powers, J.G., and C.A. Davis, 2002 “A Cloud-resolving, Regional Simulation of Tropical Cyclone Formation,” Atmos. Sci. Lett., 3, 15–24. These papers represent a first success in simulating the development of a mature hurricane, beginning only with the initial synoptic-scale conditions.

David Edwards, Jean Francois Lamarque, Louisa Emmons, John Gille, Gene Francis, Merritt Deeter, Juying Warner, Daniel Ziskin, and Lawrence Lyjak (ADC) for their work with Jean-Luc Atie and Jean-Pierre Cammas (Observatoire Mide Pyrénees, Toulouse, France), James R. Drummond (University of Toronto), and John P. Burrows and Andreas Richter (University of Bremen, Germany) for “Tropospheric Ozone Over the Tropical Atlantic: A Satellite Perspective” (published in 2003 in the Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 4237). This paper blends data from various satellite sensors, in situ measurements, and model sensitivity simulations in an original manner to analyze the mechanisms behind the ozone maximum observed over the southern Atlantic in January.

Education and Outreach

Given for efforts having a significant impact on, and leading to improvements in, scientific, mathematical, or technical education, or other efforts that significantly enhance the public's understanding of scientific or technical issues. These activities may involve postgraduate, graduate, undergraduate, K–12, or general-public education.

John Firor (ESIG), for The Crowded Greenhouse: Population, Climate Change, and Creating a Sustainable World (with his wife and coauthor, Judith Jacobsen), and for John’s tireless efforts as an informal educator and ambassador for NCAR, raising environmental awareness through lectures and talks to scientists, students, and the general public during the past five years.

Brigitte Baeuerle, Kate Beierle, Ned Chamberlain, Mike Daniels, Tony Delany, Don Ferraro, Terry Hock, Tim Lim, Renee Ray, Steve Semmer, Mike Spowart, Scott Spuler, and Lou Verstraete (ATD) for successfully engaging the majority of ATD’s lead engineers to serve as mentors for 15 engineering students from 10 U.S. universities.

Patrick Parrish, Dwight Owens, Victoria Johnson, Steve Deyo, Heidi Godsil, Carl D. Whitehurst, Jr., and Seth Lamos (COMET) for developing Hurricane Strike!, a multimedia Web-based module that helps middle school students, their families, and teachers understand the science and hazards of landfalling hurricanes.

Scientific and Technical Accomplishment

Given for efforts leading to substantial improvements in scientific and/or technical capabilities, including advances in hardware or software engineering, computer science, and applied science. Accomplishments in this category might, but do not necessarily, result in a scientific or technical publication.

Steven Chiswell, Steven Emmerson, Michael Schmidt, and Thomas Yoksas (Unidata) for improvements to the Internet Data Distribution System, by significantly improving the way near real-time data is delivered to researchers, educators, and operational organizations.

James Smith (ACD) for his contributions to the advancement of experimental research through the development of new instrumentation and measurement techniques and the subsequent use of these techniques to address scientific questions that were previously inaccessible to experimental study.

Administration

Given for efforts that substantially improve UCAR's ability to manage its affairs. Activities in this category might include efficiencies in managing information, improved processes within or interactions among UCAR entities or with funding agencies, or enhanced services or support to UCAR employees.

Jeff Custard and Teresa Shibao (SCD) for their work in designing, planning, implementing, documenting, and training users on an entirely new network-based telephone and voicemail system. The new system, Voice of IP (VoIP), is replacing UCAR’s PBX system.

Terry Woods and Cheryl Cristanelli (HR) for their extraordinary contributions to UCAR through the establishment of the UCAR Leadership Academy.