Kinter to receive AMS Distinguished Service Award
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) will award AOES professor Jim Kinter the 2025 Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to the Atmospheric and Related Scientists at the Society’s Annual Meeting in January. The award is “For scientific leadership in Earth system modeling, predictability and seasonal forecasting, and service to the operational forecasting and high performance computing communities.”
Jim Kinter is a pioneering climate modeler who directs the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere (COLA) Studies and the recently-established Virginia Climate Center. Through his membership in numerous national committees, Kinter has applied his own expertise in predictability, computer modeling, and computational infrastructure to helping advance America’s weather and climate modeling enterprise.
His recent service to the scientific community includes chairing the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) External Advisory Panel (2017-2022), NOAA Climate Modeling Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) task force, co-chairing the International CLIVAR Climate of the 20th Century Project (1998-2022), the UCAR Community Advisory Committee for National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP; 2011-2018), and the NOAA Community Modeling Review Committee (2018-2021), and membership in the National Academy of Sciences Digital Twin Panel (2022-2024), and AMS Council (2015-2019). Kinter is also a founding member of the AOES Department and served as AOES department chair (2017-2021).
The Cleveland Abbe Award is “presented on the basis of activities that have materially contributed to the progress of the atmospheric and related sciences” or to applications to human welfare. It is named after a key figure in the initial development of the U.S. Weather Bureau, now the National Weather Service.
Receiving the award “underscores my belief in the vital link between scientific research and societal progress,” Kinter wrote, adding, “Science, at its core, is an act of service. I've been privileged to collaborate with people and organizations whose work has transformed lives. As an example, I am very excited about the Virginia Climate Center, which represents our continuing commitment to translating research into real-world solutions.”
Photo: Kinter (back row, first person on left) and other past and present AOES affiliates at the annual AMS Meeting.
