Syukuro “Suki” Manabe is a meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variation. The Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the fundamental understanding of Earth’s climate system. Nominations are considered by a committee of seven members, four of which are selected from the Committee on Climate Variability and Change. The award must receive final approval from the AMS Council.
Learn More About the Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award.
Learn More About Award Nominations.
The Committee on Climate Variability and Change is pleased to award Ronald Stouffer the 2024 Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award for his groundbreaking development of coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models with innovative applications to characterize and quantify global climate variability and change.
Ronald Stouffer worked at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) for 38 years where he was a senior research climatologist. During his time at GFDL, Mr. Stouffer collaborated closely with Syukuro Manabe on the development of the first coupled atmosphere-ocean models and held positions as Head of the Climate and Ecosystems Group and Senior Scientist of Earth System Modeling and Science. Ronald Stouffer is currently an Adjunct Professor of Geoscience at the University of Arizona.
Ronald Stouffer chairs the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) Coupled Model Intercomparison Panel (CMIP) and has authored over 200 research articles on Earth's climate and climate change. He was a contributor to the Working Group I assessment reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and chapter author in the 1995, 2001, and 2007 reports. In addition to being elected a Fellow of both the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Mr. Stouffer has received 5 NOAA Distinguished Authorship Awards and the NOAA Career Achievement Award in 2017.
The Committee on Climate Variability and Change awarded Dr. Jonathan Gregory the 2023 Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award for his vital contributions to our understanding of climate sensitivity and rising sea level, and to assessments that communicate this understanding to policy-makers and the public.
Dr. Jonathan Gregory has worked at the University of Reading as Professor in the Department of Meteorology since 2006 and Senior Scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science since 2003. He also maintains a part time position as Science Fellow in Climate Change at the Met Office Hadley Centre.
In addition to authoring or contributing to over 200 referred publications, Dr. Gregory was also joint coordinating lead author of the sea level chapter in the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 (WG1) Third Assessment Report, lead author of the projections and ocean observations and technical summary of the 2007 IPCC WG1 Fourth Assessment Report, and lead author of the sea level chapter and technical summary of the 2013 IPCC WG1 Fifth Assessment Report.
The Committee on Climate Variability and Change awarded Dr. Cecilia Bitz the 2022 Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award for her fundamental contributions to polar climate science, including numerical modeling, and its role in the global climate system including the causes and consequences of polar climate change.
Dr. Cecilia Bitz currently holds positions as a Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty Member in the Astrobiology Program, and Adjunct Physicist at the Polar Science Center, at the University of Washington, where she has maintained various positions since 1999. Dr. Bitz serves the field through her position on the National Research Council's Board on Atmospheric Sciences since 2016 and has testified to the U.S. Senate regarding Arctic climate change.
Dr. Bitz's research focuses on the role of sea ice in the climate system and high-latitude climate and climate change. She is particularly interested in the predictability of Arctic sea ice, acting as PrincipaI Investigator on the Sea Ice Prediction Network and leading a team that created and maintains the SIPN Predictability Portal. Dr. Bitz also works with global coupled climate models with a focus on high resolution integrations.
The Committee on Climate Variability and Change awarded Dr. Joyce Penner the 2021 Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award for her scientific leadership in merging atmospheric aerosols and their chemistry with climate models to understand the breadth of human activities driving climate change.
Dr. Joyce Penner is currently the Ralph J. Cicerone Distinguished University Professor of Atmospheric Science in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan where she began as Professor in 1996. Dr. Penner continues to serve as President of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, a position she began in 2019 following acting as President of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union. She has also served as a member of numerous national and international science advisory committees and provided scientific briefings to U.S. Senate staff and the Subsidiary Body on Sustainable Technology of the United Nations, particularly on the effects of aviation on the atmosphere.
Dr. Penner's research focuses on cloud and aerosol interactions and cloud microphysics, including their implications for climate and climate change, global tropospheric chemistry, and model development and interpretation. In addition to authoring or contributing to over 200 referred publications, Dr. Penner took roles coordinating and authoring several chapters and reports as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third, Fourth, and Fifth Assessments.