Roger Pulwarty is receiving the 2022 AGU Ambassador Award for his exceptional scientific, societal and policy impacts on disaster response, preparedness and risk reduction around the world.

Roger has been a major player in some of the most significant policies and action plans the U.S. government has implemented in the areas of disaster science, response and preparedness. He was the founding director of the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) that transformed drought management in the United States.

Roger’s international contributions are all also well-known and recognized. He served as a convening lead author on U.N. Office for Disaster Reduction Global Assessment Reports, on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II, including Special Reports on Water Resources and on Extremes, and on the U.S. National Climate Assessment. He has provided testimonies before the U.S. Congress, served on National Academy of Sciences committees, and acts as an adviser on climate risk assessment and management to the Western Governors' Association, the Organization of American States, the U.N. Development Programme, the U.N. Environment Programme and the Interamerican and World Banks. He co-chairs the World Meteorological Organization Climate Services Information System Implementation Team and is the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics scientific representative on the U.N. Global Framework on Climate Services.

Roger’s publications primarily focus on climate and risk management in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to research, he has created environments and programs for fostering interdisciplinary research. Roger has played a major role in leading innovative research teams and interdisciplinary program design and implementation to address complex environmental problems related to weather and natural hazards. He helped conceptualize, develop and then lead what he later named the NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) Program. These are applied research and decision support efforts now spread around 11 regions of the United States and recognized as prototypes for integrating physical and social sciences research into decision-making.

For his significant contributions, Roger has received many honors and awards. He is a co-recipient of the Department of Commerce Gold and Silver Medals for integrating scientific research into decision-making and the 2016 AGU Gilbert F. White Distinguished Award and Lecture.

Roger has a remarkable record of selfless public service; the promotion of geophysical sciences and scientific integrity in political arenas; and a tireless dedication to diversity, outreach, raising awareness and public engagement. We are thrilled that he has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2022 AGU Ambassador Award. Congratulations, Roger!

- Amir AghaKouchak,
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California

I am deeply honored to receive an Ambassador Award from the American Geophysical Union. AGU epitomizes the professional organization that is dedicated to promoting the highest-quality science, ensuring that science contributes to solving societal problems, and fostering a cadre of innovative professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge and practices that support both of those goals. No recognition of this kind is the result of one person’s work. I am thankful that AGU recognizes the contributions of multiple disciplines in enabling a resilient future, and as such, I sit on the shoulders of many and diverse giants. To paraphrase a question asked by the late geographer Gilbert White, “If we know so much, why aren’t we doing better?” AGU through the Ambassador Award acknowledges that the contributions of science in guiding us toward a more just and sustainable world is increasingly reliant on the joint construction of knowledge with diverse communities, an inherently social and behavioral process, aimed at enriching the human condition and sustaining livelihoods, ecosystems and well-being. With these thoughts in mind, my own attempts have been guided by two use-inspired questions: How best can we anticipate, develop and incorporate existing and new knowledge into better decisions, and as critically, how do we make sense of the multiple perceptions, values and frames to chart an equitable path forward? Interdisciplinary research and programs that systematize and communicate a body of knowledge for action are both necessary. The support of my colleagues and their intellectual contributions in understanding the beautiful complexity of the Earth system and the themes embodied in this award are humbling. They stand as pillars of outstanding competence, rigorously integrated knowledge, and, most importantly, as stellar human beings. I am fortunate to be able to rely on their minds and on their help. We are accorded an honored role in society. To sustain that trust in a rapidly changing world, we need to not only live up to expectations of knowledge creation but to help imagine and create more equitable and sustainable futures. I am indebted to the AGU Honors team and committee. I thank Professor AghaKouchak and my colleagues who selflessly supported this nomination, the numerous mentors I have been fortunate to have had over many decades, my family, and my spouse, Susan Iott, who are the touchstones of quality and integrity for anything to which I am able, even minimally, to contribute. - Roger S. Pulwarty National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boulder, Colorado