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.
Mulugeta Gebregziabher, Ph.D., a nationally and internationally recognized public health leader, researcher and educator, has been named a professor and the endowed chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health.
Engineering Days at the University of Oklahoma give high school students direct exposure to engineering through hands-on, discipline-based experiences on campus. The program brings rising juniors and seniors to the Norman campus for one-day sessions led by OU faculty and supported by current engineering students.
The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $10.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the Oklahoma Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Sensory Biology. The center will serve as a hub for research into how cells sense and respond to their environment and the diseases that can occur when that process malfunctions.
