image: Prof. Chen was elected an American Meteorology Fellow in 2013. view more
Credit: UM/RSMAS
MIAMI— University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Professors Shuyi S. Chen and Brian J. Soden have been elected as Fellows of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the nation's leading professional society for scientists in the atmospheric and related sciences. Dr. Bruce Albrecht, who is a Fellow of the AMS has been recognized with the 2013 AMS Teaching Excellence Award.
The honor of Fellow is given to an individual for recognition of outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences, or their applications, during a substantial period of years. The Teaching Excellence Award is given annually to an individual in recognition of sustained outstanding teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels and the impact this individual has on student education.
Chen is a Professor in the Division of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at UM. She is a widely published author whose work focusing on the dynamics and air-sea interactions in tropical convection and cyclones. Chen leads a research group at UM that has developed a new generation fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model for hurricane research and prediction. Chen has been a lead scientist on several global tropical cyclone research programs, among them: the Coupled Boundary Layer Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST); the successful Hurricane Rainbands and Intensity Change Experiment (RAINEX) using three Doppler radar aircraft collecting unprecedented in-situ data in Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ophelia in 2005; and the largest international program to study typhoons in the West Pacific, Impact of Typhoons on Ocean in Pacific (ITOP) in 2010. Chen is also a lead aircraft scientist in the DYNAMO field campaign collecting data over the Indian Ocean to improve our knowledge of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and its impacts on global weather. She is now working with a team of scientists in CARTHE that focuses on understanding the impact of oil spill on the environment in the Gulf of Mexico. Chen is a recipient of the NASA's Group Award on Tropical Convection Program. Chen served as an Editor for Weather and Forecasting journal of the American Meteorological Society. She is a member of the National Academies' Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC).
Soden is a Professor and Associate Dean of the Master's of Professional Science at UM's Rosenstiel School. His work focuses on the use of satellite observations to test and improve computer simulations of Earth's climate. With more than 90 peer-reviewed papers on a variety of topics, he is considered an expert in the response of the climate system to global warming. A graduate of the University of Miami's undergraduate program, he received his Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Before returning to the University of Miami, Soden was a Visiting Scientist and Lecturer at Princeton University, and a Physical Scientist with NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, NJ. Soden is a Lead Author for the 2007 and 2013 reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Soden is a recipient of the American Meteorological Society's Henry G. Houghton Award, the National Space Club's David S. Johnson Award, and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency's H.E. Reid Award.
Albrecht is presently a Professor in the division of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at UM, having served as Chair of the department from 2000-2003. He was on the faculty of the Department of Meteorology at Penn State from 1977-1995. Albrecht has been active in undergraduate and graduate education for nearly 30 years and co-authored the textbook Atmospheric Thermodynamics with Dr. Craig Bohren. Albrecht has been a participant on a variety of science advisory panels and committees including: the AMS Committee on Radar Meteorology (2002-2005), the NRC GEWEX Panel (1993-1997), the Executive Committee of the International Commission on Clouds and Precipitation (1992-2002), and the NSF Atmospheric Sciences Observing Facilities Advisory Panel (1994-1997). He was the Lead Scientist for the FIRE Stratocumulus Intensive Field Observations (1986-1989) and the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) Field Program (1989-1993) and the Chairman of the NSF Steering Committee for the Role of Clouds in Climate Workshop, Reno, Nevada, 1993. Albrecht served as the editor of the Monthly Weather Review (1985-1990) and Journal of Atmospheric Sciences (2008-2011) and Secretary of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union (1992-1994). He received the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, 1992; the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 2006; and is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Founded in 1919, the AMS has a membership of more than 12,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts. AMS publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals, sponsors multiple conferences annually, and directs numerous education and outreach programs and services. For more information see www.ametsoc.org
The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. Founded in the 1940's, the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions. Offering dynamic interdisciplinary academics, the Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities to better understand the planet, participating in the establishment of environmental policies, and aiding in the improvement of society and quality of life. For more information, please visit www.rsmas.miami.edu.