For seminal contributions to the understanding of stratospheric dynamics and transport, and the processes that control stratospheric water vapor

Karen H. Rosenlof will receive the 2016 Yoram J. Kaufman Unselfish Cooperation in Research Award at the 2016 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, to be held 12–16 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “broad influence in atmospheric science through exceptional creativity, inspiration of younger scientists, mentoring, international collaborations, and unselfish cooperation in research.”  

“For exceptional creativity in research and unselfish collaboration, advancing our understanding of stratospheric dynamics, stratospheric water vapor, and ozone”

Karen is well recognized as being among the world’s top leading experts in stratospheric dynamics, stratospheric water vapor, and ozone, and their relationships to climate change. A hallmark of her research is the way she conducts her research by incorporation of multiple data sources, including in situ observations from aircraft and balloon instruments as well as space-based observations from a wide variety of satellites, while exhibiting a remarkable level of creativity, inspiration, and unselfish collaboration.
Karen’s roles as lead scientist, flight planner, and forecaster in numerous aircraft field campaigns through the years has garnered her a reputation as a superb collaborator and leader who unselfishly works to incorporate the disparate objectives of multiple PIs into the flight plans, earning her wide respect from her peers. She has been a contributing author and expert reviewer for the IPCC, and both a contributing and lead author for the WMO Ozone Assessment Report. She developed three comprehensive and popular datasets for stratospheric water vapor and ozone, which she unselfishly shared with the scientific community.

Most befitting the Yoram Kaufman Award, as stated in her nominating letter, “Karen has gone far beyond her normal job responsibilities as a federal government scientist to make mentoring of young scientists a cornerstone of her professional approach. She has mentored over 20 young scientists, including an undergraduate student, a STEM teacher, and numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. She has been an inspiration to many early-career women scientists by serving as a graduate or postdoctoral advisor.”

On behalf of the AGU Atmospheric Sciences section, I am pleased to present the 2016 Yoram Kaufman Award to Dr. Karen Rosenlof.

—William K. M. Lau, President, Atmospheric Sciences section, AGU

I am humbled to receive the Yoram J. Kaufman Unselfish Cooperation in Research Award from AGU. It is an honor to be included among the distinguished scientists who have received this award in the past, and, in particular, to be recognized for inspiring younger scientists. I consider working with students, postdocs, and promising young scientists to be the most rewarding part of my job, and also serves as paying back for all the support I was fortunate to receive early in my career. I had the opportunity to be guided by some of the best, and here can only acknowledge a few. I’m extremely grateful for the guidance and support I received from my Ph.D. advisor, Jim Holton. Adrian Tuck introduced me to the world of stratospheric aircraft research and first encouraged my blending of theoretical studies with analysis of in situ and satellite data. George Reid took me under his wings when I started as a postdoc at NOAA, and Sam Oltmans patiently helped me navigate my first experience with an international scientific assessment. And, through the entire journey, I’ve had the love and support of my family. Collaboration and teamwork are increasingly important to advance our knowledge of how climate is changing, given all the complex interactions involved. It’s been a delight to be involved with satellite, field mission, and assessment teams that are helping advance our understanding of climate processes and an honor to be recognized for those efforts. —Karen H. Rosenlof, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colo.