July 27th, 2018
Rong Zhang, an Oceanographer and head of the Ocean and Cryosphere division, was elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) for 2019. She is recognized for her work on the mechanisms of Atlantic multidecadal variability and associated decadal predictability, and the impact of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on global and regional climate change and variability. Her research has provided important insights about the role of AMOC in many regional phenomena having enormous social and economic implications, such as Gulf Stream separation, Intertropical Convergence Zone shifts, Sahel monsoon rainfall, Atlantic hurricane activity, and Arctic sea ice extent.
Dr. Zhang has been with GFDL since 2002. She presently serves as an editor of Journal of Climate and she has served in leadership roles for the U. S. AMOC Science Team. Dr. Zhang earned a Ph. D. in Climate Physics and Chemistry from MIT in 2001.
AMS Fellows are selected for their “outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.”. Fellows are chosen from academic, government and private sectors and they retain the honor for life. Dr. Zhang will be recognized at the AMS Annual Meeting in January 2019 with other AMS Fellows.