Category: Press Releases

Ross Salawitch Elected as an AGU Fellow

September 19, 2022

Ross Salawitch has been elected as an American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fellow. He joins 53 other individuals in the 2022 Class of Fellows. Since 1962, the AGU Union Fellows Committee has selected less than 0.1% of members as new Fellows. AGU, a nonprofit organization that supports 130,000 enthusiasts to experts worldwide in Earth and space sciences, annually recognizes a select number of individuals as part of its Honors and Recognition program.

Jing Wei pictured with his advisor, Zhanqing Li

Jing Wei is 2022 AGU Atmospheric Sciences Section James R. Holton Award Recipient

September 7, 2022

Jing Wei was announced as American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2022 Atmospheric Sciences Section James R. Holton Award recipient. The James R. Holton Award is awarded usually to one young scientist across all disciplines of atmospheric sciences to acknowledge their outstanding scientific research and accomplishments at an early stage of career within three years of receiving Ph.D. Wei is the youngest winner of this award since its establishment in 2004 with a little over one year after Ph.D.

Ernesto Hugo Berbery Receives Fulbright Specialist Award

August 26, 2022

ESSIC Research Professor & CISESS Deputy Director Ernesto Hugo Berbery has received a Fulbright Specialist Program award, a prestigious honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Congratulations to Dr. Li, Distinguished University Professor

August 26, 2022

Dr. Zhanqing Li, Professor at ESSIC and University of Maryland’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science is a new recipient of the Distinguished University Professor Award, the highest academic honor that the University of Maryland confers upon a faculty member. Considered a national achievement, this award given to just 7% of tenured faculty honors impact and significant contribution to the nominee’s field, knowledge, profession, and/or practice.

Eastern hemlock trees in the study area. Changes in the abundance of beech and hemlock are responsible for much of the woody biomass stored in Midwestern forests over the last 10,000 years. Photo taken by co-author David Mladenoff.

Modeling Historical Biomass Could Be Key to Buffering Climate Change

June 23, 2022

UMD-led study maps the forests of the American Midwest to monitor carbon storage over millennia

Esteemed NOAA Meteorologist Louis Uccellini Joins the University of Maryland Faculty

June 21, 2022

He will hold a joint appointment in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center.

Caption: The Water Point Viewer’s current water points stretch from Mali to Somalia.

ESSIC Scientist Expands Water Availability Prediction in East and West Africa

May 18, 2022

ESSIC Researcher Kimberly Slinski is the Principal Investigator on “Earth Observation-Based Monitoring and Forecasting of Rangeland Water Resources”, a newly funded project that aims to develop new capabilities for monitoring and forecasting water availability in African rangeland ponds. The project team includes Shrad Shukla and Chris Funk of the University of California Santa Barbara, Mike Jasinski of NASA GSFC, and Gabriel Senay of USGS.

ESSIC Researchers Ranked Among 2022 Top Environmental Scientists by Research.com

May 16, 2022

In the newly released 2022 Top Scientist rankings by Research.com, 18 University of Maryland researchers ranked among the Top 1,000 Environmental Sciences researchers in the United States, and seven ranked among the Top 1,000 worldwide. Of those 18 UMD scientists, 6 are ESSIC scientists.

Tractor on a paddy field in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Can the Mekong Delta be saved from drowning?

May 9, 2022

May 6, 2022 – The Mekong Delta in Viet Nam could be nearly fully submerged by the end of the century if urgent actions are not taken across the river basin. Continuing with business as usual could drown 90% of this agro-economic powerhouse that’s home to nearly 20 million people – with immense local and global impacts.

Ellen Williams, wearing a red coat and a grey scarf, smiles for the camera.

Director Ellen Williams Named Chair of NASA Science Committee

May 3, 2022

ESSIC Director and Distinguished University Professor Ellen Williams has been named Chair of the NASA Science Committee and member of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC).