We are proud of the accomplishments of our current students and alumni. Many of our students are the recipients of prestigious fellowships & many of our alumni have gone on to have remarkable success in their careers.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Annually, we recognize a graduate with a Distinguished Alumni Award. We also have a Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series, allowing these scientists to come back and talk to the department about their lives and research.
Recipients
- 2015 David Dewitt, 1994 Ph.D.
- 2014 Rachel Pinker, 1976 Ph.D
- 2012 Kurt Mobley, 1977 Ph.D.
- 2011 Oreste Reale, 1996 Ph.D.
- 2010 Jae Schemm, 1981 Ph.D.
- 2009 Paul Dirmeyer, 1992 Ph.D.
- 2008 Benjamin Kirtman, 1993 Ph.D.
- 2007 Ming Ji, 1989 Ph.D.
- 2006 Diane Seidel, 1992 Ph.D.
- 2005 Muthuvel Chelliah, 1985 Ph.D.
- 2004 Mitch Goldberg, 2009 Ph.D.
- 2003 Ken Pickering, 1987 Ph.D.
- 2002 Phil Arkin, 1984 Ph.D.
AGU Outstanding Paper
Recipients
- Daniel Anderson (2014), Advisor(s): Dickerson
AMS Best Oral Presentation
Recipients
- Tianning Su (2020), Advisor(s): Z. Li
AMS Graduate Fellowship
Recipients
- Stephen Baxter (2010), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Kristin Cummings (2009), Advisor(s): Pickering
- Steven Greybush (2007), Advisor(s): Kalnay
AMS Outstanding Oral Presentation
Recipients
- Xinzhou Huang (2021), Advisor(s): Kai Yang, Dickerson
Ann Wylie Dissertation Fellowship
Recipients
- Tianning Su (2021), Advisor: Z. Li
- Eviatar Bach (2020), Advisor: Kalnay
- Agniv Sengupta (2019), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Adria Schwarber (2018), Advisor(s): S. Smith, Salawitch
- Youtong Zheng (2017), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Xiaolei Niu (2010), Advisor(s): Pinker
- Massimo Bollasina (2009), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Bin Guan (2007), Advisor(s): Nigam
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Prize for Dissertation and Publication Excellence
Professor Zhanqing Li established this fund in 2021 to award the best dissertations or publications of AOSC graduate students.
Recipients
- Tianning Su (2021), Dissertation Excellence Award, Advisor: Zhanqing Li
- Vitaly Kholodovsky (2021), Publication Excellence Award, Advisor: Xin-Zhong Liang
CMNS Amit and Ruchi Mehta Graduate Research Award
Recipients
- Rachel Wegener (2022), Advisor(s): Wenegrat
CMNS Board of Visitors Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Recipients
- Daniel Anderson (2016), Advisor(s): Dickerson, Salawitch
CMNS Deans Fellowship
Recipients
- Aisha Wellington (2022), Advisor: Poterjoy
- Gillian Felton (2022), Advisor:
- Erin Evans (2022), Advisor:
- Sara Weinberg (2022), Advisor:
- Hannah Zafar (2022), Advisor:
- Igor Uchoa Farias (2021), Advisor: Wenegrat
- Zihan Chen (2021), Advisor: Liang
- Madelynn Seiler (2021), Advisor: Pickering
- Reing Fischer (2021), Advisor: Farrell
- Laila Howar (2022), Advisor: Salawitch
- Akarsh Ralhan (2021), Advisor: Liang
- Natalia Rojas Henao (2021), Advisor: Z. Li
- Jhayron Perez Carrasquilla (2021), Advisor: Molina
- Sarah Howard (2020), Advisor: Poterjoy
- Benjamin Woods (2020), Advisor: Boisvert, Carton
- Abby Sebol (2020), Advisor: Canty
- Henry Hausmann (2020), Advisor: Zeng
- Deirdre Dolan (2019), Advisor: Canty
- Junjie Dong (2019), Advisor: Carton
- Joseph Knisely (2019), Advisor: Poterjoy
- Kenta Kurosawa (2019), Advisor: Poterjoy
- Philip Meyer (2019), Advisor: Carton
- Andrew Walsworth (2019), Advisor: Poterjoy
- Haipeng Zhang (2019), Advisor: Z. Li
- Joshua McCurry (2018), Advisor(s): Poterjoy
- Justin Hicks (2018), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Hannah Daley (2018), Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Siyu Shan (2018), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Liam Leslie (2017), Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Ryan Bolt (2017), Advisor(s): Liang
- Tyler Wawrzyniak (2017), Advisor(s): Zhang, Zou
- Emmanuel Dibia (2017), Advisor(s): Kleist, Liang
- Ellen Buckley (2017), Advisor(s): Farrell
- Dylan Jeffrey (2016), Advisor(s): Kleist
- Steven Fons (2016), Advisor(s): Carton, Kurtz
- Shaun Howe (2016), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Kanishk Gohil (2016), Advisor(s): Kleist
- Youtong Zheng (2016), Advisor(s): Lampkin
- Casey Joseph (2016), Advisor(s): Lampkin
- Sijal Dangol (2016), Advisor(s): Liang
- Tianning Su (2016), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Casey Cavanagh (2015), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Antonio Larios Huerta (2015), Advisor(s): Ide
- Ambrish Sharma (2015), Advisor(s): Salawitch
- Katherine Junghenn (2015), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Lei Zhang (2015), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Sarah Benish (2015), Advisor(s): Salawitch
- Agniv Sengupta (2014), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Warren Porter (2014), Advisor(s): Jin
- Matthew Wespetal (2014), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Jeremy Kedziora (2014), Advisor(s): Kleist
- Natalie Thomas (2014), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Daniel Nielsen (2014), Advisor(s): Zhang
- Cory Martin (2013), Advisor(s): Zang
- Tse-Chun Chen (2013), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Kriti Bhargava (2013), Advisor(s): Carton, Kalnay
- Adria Schwarber (2013), Advisor(s): Salawitch, Smith
- Neal Graham (2013), Advisor(s): Moralles Wilhelm
- Amy Solomon (2013), Advisor(s): Lampkin
- Austin Hope (2012), Advisor(s): Salawitch
- Stephen Baxter (2012), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Katherine Lukens (2012), Advisor(s): Berbery
- Travis Sluka (2012), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- David New (2012), Advisor(s): Lian
- William Miller (2012), Advisor(s): Zhang
- Adam Greeley (2011), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Fang Zhao (2011), Advisor(s): Pickering
- Dustin Shea (2011), Advisor(s): Zhang
- Yanting Deng (2011), Advisor(s): Li
- Rebekah Esmaili (2011), Advisor(s): Tian, Zeng
- Ying Zhang (2010), Advisor(s): Ide
- Clare Flynn (2010), Advisor(s): Pickering
- Benjamin Johnson (2010), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Jordan Foley (2010), Advisor(s): Zhang
- Virginia Sawyer (2009), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Benjamin Johnson (2009), Advisor(s): Carton, Salawitch
- James Cipriani (2008), Advisor(s): Pickering
- Eric Nussbaumer (2008), Advisor(s): Pinker
- James Reagen (2008), Advisor(s): Nigam, Carton
- Brian Cook (2007), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Alan Kohn (2006), Advisor(s): Carton
- Ji-Sun Kang (2006), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Lei Zhou (2006), Advisor(s): Murtugudde
ESSIC-NASA Goddard Graduate Fellowship Program
Recipients
- Manisha Ganehshan (2009), Advisor(s): Murtugudde
- David Kuhl (2007), Advisor(s): Szunyogh
- Schott Rabenhorst (2005), Advisor(s): Whiteman, Zhang
- Hezekiah Carty (2005), Advisor(s): Nigam, Smith
- Brian Vant-Hull (2004), Advisor(s): Li
Eugene Rasmusson Fellowship for Academic and Research Excellence
This fellowship was established by Dr. Eugene Rasmusson (former UMD Research Professor Emeritus, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering). The recipient is an outstanding graduate student who has advanced to candidacy and is selected by the Chair of AOSC.
Recipients
- Ellen Buckley (2021), Advisor: Farrell
- Steven Fons (2021), Advisors: Kurtz, Carton
- Eviatar Bach (2020), Advisors: Kalnay, Mote
- Agniv Sengupta (2019), Advisors: Nigam
- William Miller (2019), Advisors: Zhang
- Cory Martin (2018), Advisors: Zeng
- Travis Sluka (2017), Advisors: Kalnay
- Daniel Anderson (2016), Advisors: Dickerson, Salawitch
- Fang Zhao (2015), Advisors: Zeng
- Argyro Kavvada (2014), Advisors: Nigam
- Stephen Baxter (2013), Advisors: Nigam
- Stefan Cecelski (2012), Advisors: Zhang
The Eugenia Brin Professorship Fund- Lev Gandin Fellowship
This Fellowship was established by Mrs. Eugenia Brin (retired NASA Scientist who worked on issues relating to climate and weather forecasting) in honor of Lev Gandin, a highly regarded Russian scientist in Statistical Climatology. Recipients of this Fellowship receive support for up to 5 years and are selected by the Eugenia Brin Professor, to attract and support outstanding graduate students in Data Assimilation.
Recipients
- Travis Sluka (2016), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Travis Sluka (2014), Advisor(s): Kalnay
Ferdinand Baer Fellowship for Graduate Accomplishments
This Fellowship was established in memory of Karen K. Baer by Ferdinand Baer, the first Chair of UMD’s Department of Meteorology (1979-1987). Recipients are selected by the Chair of AOSC with the purpose of supporting the intellectual abilities of promising students in their scientific endeavors and contributions to the discipline.
Recipients
- Hannah Daley (2021), Advisor: Dickerson
- Joey Knisely (2021), Advisors: Poterjoy, Canty
- Deirdre Dolan (2020), Advisors: Michael Folmer, Joseph Phillips, Joseph Sienkiewicz
- Justin Hicks (2020), Advisors: Nigam, Ruiz-Barradas
- Lindsey Rodeo (2020), Advisor: Canty
- Shaun Howe (2019), Advisor: Zeng
- Casey Joseph (2018), Advisor: Lampkin
Flagship Fellowship
The Flagship Fellowship Program helps to recruit outstanding doctoral students to the University of Maryland Graduate School.
Recipients
- Alexander 'Alvin" Cheung (2022) Advisor: Molina
- Henry Santer (2021), Advisor: Poterjoy
- Eviatar Bach (2017), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Daniel Anderson (2011), Advisor(s): Dickerson
Green Fund Fellowship
This award was established by Ann G. Wylie and is supported by the Green Fund, a private philanthropic foundation that was established in memory of Frances M. Green. The fellowship supports graduate students working with Faculty affiliated with the Earth Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC).
Recipients
- Eli Dennis (2021), Advisor(s): Berbery
- Emmanuel Dibia (2021), Advisor(s): Liang
- Ellen Buckley (2020), Advisor(s): Farrell
- Niko Fedkin (2020), Advisor(s): Dickerson, Krotkov, C. Li
- Katherine Junghenn (2020), Advisor(s): Kahn, Z. Li
- Kriti Bhargava (2019), Advisor(s): Kalnay, Carton
- Steven Fons (2019), Advisor(s): Carton
- Takuma Yoshida (2019), Advisor(s): Kalnay, Penny
- Tianning Su (2019), Advisor(s): Tianning Su
- Cheng Da (2019), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Natalie Thomas (2018), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Cory Martin (2018), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Adria Schwarber (2018), Advisor(s): Smith, Salawitch
- Yunyao Li (2017), Advisor(s): Pickering
- Tse-Chun Chen (2017), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Austin Hope (2017), Advisor(s): Salawitch
- Casey Cavanagh (2017), Advisor(s): Lampkin
- Travis Sluka (2016), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Youtong Zheng (2016), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Gina Mazzuca (2016), Advisor(s): Dickerson, Pickering
- William Miller (2015), Advisor(s): Zhang
- David New (2015), Advisor(s): Liang
- Adam Greeley (2014), Advisor(s): Carton, Markus
- Katherine Lukens (2014), Advisor(s): Berbery
- Fang Zhao (2013), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Benjamin Johnson (2011), Advisor(s): Carton
- Matus Martini (2010), Advisor(s): Allen, Pickering
- Massimo Bollasina (2009), Advisor(s): Nigam
Helmut Landsberg Award
This award was established in memory of Dr H. E. Landsberg, by Mrs. Frances Landsberg in conjunction with his friends and colleagues. Dr. Landsberg was appointed to the faculty at UMD (1967-1976) and he served as first Director of the Graduate program in Meteorology (later named the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science), and of the Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics.
Recipients are selected in the following categories:
- Outstanding Service to the Undergraduate Program
- Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program
- Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication
- Outstanding Academic Achievement
- Outstanding Dissertation
Recipients
- Akanksha Singh (2021), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Canty
- Samuel Varga (2021), Outstanding Service to the Undergraduate Program
- Outstanding Student Seminar (2021) Dolly Hall, Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Hannah Daley (2020), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Rebecca Eager (2020), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Tianning Su (2020), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Austin Hope (2020), Outstanding Academic Achievement, Advisor(s): Salawitch
- Agniv Sengupta (2020), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Nigam
- William Miller (2019), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Zhang
- Takuma Yoshida (2019), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Lindsey Rodio (2019), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Canty
- Katherine Lenninger (2019), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Pickering
- Gina Mazzuca (2018), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Natalie Thomas (2018), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Sarah Benish (2018), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Dickerson
- John Cavanagh (2018), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Lampkin
- Andrew Jongeward (2017), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Li
- Allison Ring (2017), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Canty
- Shaun Howe (2017), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Zeng
- Ashley Wheeler (2017), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Warner
- Fang Zhao (2015), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Zeng
- Adria Schwarber (2015), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Hartin, Smith, Miralles-Wilhelm, Salawitch
- David New (2015), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Liang
- Stefan Cecelski (2014), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Zhang
- Daniel Anderson (2014), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Cory Martin (2014), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Zeng
- Scott Ozog (2014), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Dickerson/McGill
- Julie Nicely (2014), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Salawitch
- Linette Boisvert (2013), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Carton, Thourston-Markus
- Hye-Lim Yoo (2013), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Li
- Adam Greeley (2013), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Carton
- Clare Flynn (2013), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Pickering
- Hua Chen (2012), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Zhang
- Daryl Kleist (2012), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Ide
- Eric Nussbaumer (2012), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Pinker
- Stephen Baxter (2012), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Steven Greybush (2011), Outstanding Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Feng Niu (2011), Outstanding Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Li
- Matus Martini (2011), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Pickering
- Javier Amezcua (2011), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Kristin Cummings (2011), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Pickering
- Steven Greybush (2011), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Massimo Bollasina (2010), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Steven Greybush (2010), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Cathy Sebol (2010), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Ide
- Hua Chen (2010), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Zhang
- Lei Zhou (2009), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Murtugudde
- Steven Greybush (2009), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Lei Zhou (2008), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Murtugudde
- Anthony Santorelli (2008), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Carton
- Massimo Bollasina (2008), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Chanh Kieu (2008), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Zeng
- Junjie Liu (2007), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Megan Linkin (2007), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Brian Cook (2007), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Zeng
- Hongqing Liu (2006), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Pinker
- Zahra Chaudhry (2006), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Li
- Melanie Follette (2005), Outstanding Service to the Graduate Program, Advisor(s): Hudson
- Ernesto Munoz (2004), Collective Curiosity, Advisor(s): Busalacchi
- Brian Vant-Hull (2004), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Li
- Nikolaj Nawri (2003), Outstanding Dissertation, Advisor(s): Baer
- Donglian Sun (2003), Outstanding Peer-Reviewed Publication, Advisor(s): Pinker
- Malaquais Mendez (2003), Outstanding Outstanding Research, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Bryan Guyer (2003), Outstanding Student Seminar, Advisor(s): Zhang
- Benjamin Johnson (2011), Advisor(s): Carton
- Matus Martini (2010), Advisor(s): Allen, Pickering
- Massimo Bollasina (2009), Advisor(s): Nigam
Leah Thornton Lozano Fellowship for Scholastic Achievements and Service
This Fellowship was established by William Ryan (MA class of 1990), in memory of Leah Thornton Lozano. Recipients are selected by the Chair of AOSC.
Recipients
- Yixin Wang (2022), Advisor: Liang
- Zihan Chen (2021), Advisor: Liang
- Henry Hausmann (2020), Advisor(s): Zeng
- Lindsey Rodio (2020), Advisor(s): Canty
- Austin Hope (2019), Advisor(s): Salawitch, Canty
- Neal Graham (2019), Advisor(s): Miralles-Wilhelm
- Hannay Daley (2018), Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Agniv Sengupta (2017), Advisor(s): Nigam
- David New (2016), Advisor(s): Liang
NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
Recipients
- Emmanuel Dibia (2019), Advisor(s): Liang, Kleist
- Cheng Da (2018), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- David New (2017), Advisor(s): Liang
- Stefan Cecelski (2011), Advisor(s): Zhang
- Christopher Loughner (2007), Advisor(s): Allen, Dickerson
- Edward Nowottnick (2007), Advisor(s): Colarco, Li
- Lei Zhou (2007), Advisor(s): Murtugudde
- Steven Chan (2004), Advisor(s): Nigam
UMD Graduate Assistant Award
Recipients
- Ellen Buckley (2022), Advisor(s): Farrell
- Joey Knisely (2021), Advisor(s): Poterjoy
- Justin Hicks (2020), Advisor(s): Nigam
- Youtong Zheng (2016), Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Sarah Bensish (2016), Advisor(s): Dickerson
- William Miller (2016), Advisor(s): Zhang
- Allison Ring (2015), Advisor(s): Lampkin
- Travis Sluka (2015), Advisor(s): Kalnay
- Dan Goldberg (2015), Advisor(s): Dickerson, Salawitch, Canty
Wallace Patillo Reed Endowed Distinguished Graduate Fellowship
This Fellowship was established by William F. Ryan (MS class of 1991) in honor of Tuskegee Airmen Wallace Patillo Reed, the first African American meteorologist in the military and believed to be Weather Bureau's first African American meteorologist. This is a merit-based fellowship supporting AOSC graduate students, with the goal of recruiting and promoting racial diversity.
Other Graduate Awards
Recipients
- Tianning Su (2022), Graduate School: Charles Carmello Distinguished Dissertation Award
- Rachel Wegener (2021), The Dr. Richard Payne Graduate Fellowship, Advisor(s): Wenegrat
- Sigal Dangol (2021), GS Summer Research Fellowship, Advisor(s): Miralles-Willhelm, Liang
- Sarah Benish, 3-M GS Dissertation Competition, Advisor: Dickerson
- Tianning Su (2020), GS Summer Research Fellowship, Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Justin Hicks (2019), GS Summer Research Fellowship, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Ryan Bolt (2019), GS Summer Research Fellowship, Advisor(s): Liang
- Emmanuel Dibia (2017), NCAS Fellowship, Advisor(s): Liang, Kleist
- Youtong Zheng (2016), Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, Advisor(s): Z. Li
- Adam Greeley (2015), Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, Advisor(s): Carton, Kurtz
- Natalie Thomas (2015), National Defense and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Stephen Baxter (2012), Summer Research Scholarship, Advisor(s): Nigam
- Matus Martini (2010), Global Climate Change Award, Advisor(s): Allen, Pickering
- Elena Yegorova (2006), EPA Star Fellowship, Advisor(s): Dickerson
- Debra Baker (2005), NSF Graduate Fellowship, Advisor(s): Kalnay
- David Kuhl (2004), National Institute of Aerospace Fellowship, Advisor(s): Szunyogh