Awards

Jacob Bjerknes Lecture

Headshot of Jacob Bjerknes

About the Lecture

The Jacob Bjerknes Lecture is presented annually to a scientist who has made a major scientific impact in advancing the basic understanding of the atmosphere and Earth’s climate. Established in 1993, the Bjerknes Lecture honors the life of Jacob Aall Bonnevie Bjerknes (1897-1975) and his work in developing the basic theory of fronts, cyclogenesis, weather prediction, and creating quantitative models for forecasting.

The Bjerknes Lecture is also a part of the Bowie Lecture Series, established in 1989 to commemorate the 50th presentation of the William Bowie medal, AGU's highest honor.

Lecturer Benefits

AGU is proud to recognize our section honorees. Recipients of the Jacob Bjerknes Lecture will receive the following benefits during the lecture presentation year:
  • Lecture certificate
  • Recognition in Eos
  • Recognition at the AGU Fall Meeting
  • An invitation to present the Bjerknes Lecture at the AGU Fall Meeting
  • Complimentary ticket to the Atmospheric Sciences business meeting at the AGU Fall Meeting

Submission

Nominations for the Jacob Bjerknes Lecture are being accepted until 12 April 2023. Please submit your nomination package or Bjerknes Lecture inquiries to Dr. Allison Steiner.


Nomination Information

Nomination letters should be no more than two pages in length, and should emphasize a nominee's qualifications to meet the selection criteria and qualifications per the award description.

Nominators

Members of the general public can submit nominations for the Lecture. Multiple nominators for a single candidate are encouraged to collaborate on the nomination package.

Nominees

The nominee is required to be an active AGU member. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Supporters

Members of the general public can write letters supporting nominees for the Lecture.

Exceptions

The following individuals are not eligible to be candidates, nominators, or supporters for the award during their terms of service:

  • AGU Atmospheric Sciences section leadership
  • AGU President
  • AGU President-elect
  • Council Leadership Team members
  • Honors and Recognition Committee members
  • Lecture Committee members
  • All full-time AGU staff

The following relationships need to be identified and communicated to the Award Committee but will not disqualify individuals from participating in the nomination or committee review process. These apply to committee members, nominators, and supporters:

  • Current dean, departmental chair, supervisor, supervisee, laboratory director, an individual with whom one has a current business or financial relationship (e.g., business partner, employer, employee)
  • Research collaborator or co-author within the last three years
  • An individual working at the same institution or having accepted a position at the same institution.

Individuals with the following relationships are disqualified from participating in the award nomination process as a nominator or supporter:

  • Family member, spouse, or partner.
  • A previous graduate (Master’s or Ph.D.) and/or postdoctoral advisor, or postdoctoral fellow may not write a nomination letter but may write a supporting letter after five years of terminating their relationship with the nominee beginning on 1 January after the year the relationship was terminated.
  • A former doctoral or graduate student, or a former postdoctoral fellow may not write a nomination letter for a former advisor but may write a supporting letter after five years of terminating their relationship with the nominee beginning on 1 January after the year the relationship was terminated.

List of Bjerknes Lecturers

1993

Kirk Bryan


1994

Richard A. Anthes


1995

Syukuro Manabe


1996

Michael J. Prather


1997

Dieter H. Ehhalt


1998

Robert D. Cess


1999

Eugenia Kalnay

View Presentation


2000

M. Joan Alexander

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2001

David A. Randall

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2003

Ralph Keeling

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2004

Mario Molina

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2005

Jonathan Overpeck

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2006

Veerabhadran Ramanathan

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2007

Susan Solomon

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2011

Paul A. Newman

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2012

Robert Houze

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2013

Judith Lean

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2014

Brian Hoskins

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2015

Kerry Emanuel

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2016

Issac Held


2017

Clara Deser


2018

Peter Webster


2019

Cecilia Bitz


2020

L. Ruby Leung


2021

Joyce Penner


2022

Linsey Marr