GFDL’s Legacy of Awards and Honors

GFDL has a rich legacy of excellence and innovation, which is reflected in the exceptional achievements of our scientists and the recognition they have received. The lab has been creating opportunities for exploration and collaboration for more than 65 years and our scientists are among the most influential and decorated in climate science. We are proud to be home to dozens of recipients of prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize and the Crafoord Prize, as well as members of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists listed here performed their award-winning work at GFDL.

Nobel Prizes

2021 – Syukuro “Suki” Manabe, Nobel Prize in Physics, “for the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming.”
2007 – 30 GFDL Scientists, Nobel Peace Prize, “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change” by contributing to the International Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report.

National Academy of Sciences

2024 – P.C.D. (Chris) Milly was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for “advances in the understanding of global and continental hydrology and their interactions with a changing climate.”
2022 – Kirk Bryan Jr., Alexander Agassiz Medal for his “research with ocean and climate models that has advanced the frontiers of understanding of the ocean’s role in Earth’s climate.”
2003 – Isaac Held was elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Crafoord Prize

2018 – Syukuro “Suki” Manabe, “for fundamental contributions to understanding the role of atmospheric trace gases in Earth’s climate system.”

Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Sciences

2015 – Syukuro “Suki” Manabe, “for his pioneering research on the sensitivity of Earth’s climate to increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and his development of global climate models, which have led to fundamental advances in the understanding of climate variability and to methods for predicting future climate change.”

BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards

2017 – Syukuro “Suki” Manabe, for his “foundational contributions to the development of mathematical models of the climate system, and their pioneering uses of these models to understand and project how Earth’s climate responds to changing concentrations of atmospheric CO2, and other perturbations underlie the modeling and analysis frameworks in use today.”
2011 – Isaac Held “for his fundamental and pioneering contributions to our understanding of the structure of atmospheric circulation systems and the role of water vapor – the most important greenhouse gas – in climate change.“

Volvo Environmental Prize

1997 – Syukuro Manabe

Blue Planet Prize

1992 – Syukuro Manabe

American Geophysical Union Awards and Honors

2024 – Lucas Harris, Ascent Award, “for his accomplishments and leadership in high-resolution atmospheric model development and in research on the models’ utility for predictions.”
2024 – P.C.D. “Chris” Milly, Robert E. Horton Medal
2023 – Vaishali Naik, Piers J. Sellers Global Environmental Change Mid-Career Award
2022 – Ming Zhao, Ascent Award, “for his leadership in global climate model development and the improved understanding of convection, clouds, climate sensitivity and extremes in GCMs.”
2021 – Thomas Delworth, Bert Bolin Global Environmental Change Award and Lecture, “for major contributions in atmosphere ocean interactions through pioneering climate modeling that has advanced the understanding of climate variations, change, and extremes.”
2020 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Jule Gregory Charney Lecturer, “in recognition of the leadership role in a range of problems central to climate modeling and the study of climate change, especially in the areas of radiative transfer, radiative signatures of climate change agents, and the contrasting climatic effects of aerosols and greenhouse gases.”
2019 – Nadir Jeevanjee, James R. Holton Award, “for his groundbreaking contributions to atmospheric sciences, in particular, to the fundamental understanding of convection.”
2018 – Angel Adames-Coraliza, James R. Holton Award, “for his groundbreaking contributions to atmospheric sciences, in particular, to the theory of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO).”
2018 – Isaac Held, Roger Revelle Medal, “for his outstanding scientific contributions to the understanding of the dynamics of the Earth’s atmosphere and climate and for his pioneering insights into the structure of atmospheric circulation patterns and the interplay with the Earth’s hydrologic cycle.”
2018 – Yi Ming, Ascent Award, “ for innovations and major advances in the understanding of the role of aerosols in radiative forcing, atmospheric dynamics and climate change from the global to regional scales.”
2017 – Larry Horowitz, Ascent Award, “ for his innovative research, important contributions to promoting better understanding of scientific fields, and meritorious work and service in his community.”
2017- Karin van der Wiel, James R. Holton Award, “for her creative studies of climate extremes, in particular, those involving precipitation.”
2015 – Paul Ginoux, Ascent Award, “for outstanding world-leading research on dust aerosols using observations and models that has contributed to a comprehensive scientific understanding of atmospheric aerosols.”
2013 – Massimo Bollasina, James R. Holton Award
2011 – Arlene Fiore, James B. Macelwane Award
2005 – Arlene Fiore, James R. Holton Award

American Meteorological Society Awards and Honors

2025 – Nadir Jeevanjee, Henry G. Houghton Award, “for providing robust and comprehensive theoretical frameworks to illuminate complex phenomena in climate physics.”
2024 – Ronald Stouffer, Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award, “for groundbreaking development of coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models with innovative applications to characterize and quantify global climate variability and change.”
2022 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal, “for his original and highly influential leadership providing fundamental insights into radiative-climate interactions among greenhouse gases, aerosols and clouds.”
2020 – Rong Zhang, Bernhard Haurwitz Lecturer for “advancing scientific understanding of the causes and impacts of Atlantic multidecadal variability and Arctic sea ice variations through insightful analysis of models and observations.”
2015 – Yi Ming, Henry G. Houghton Award
2015 – P.C.D. “Chris” Milly, Robert E. Horton Lecturer Award
2015 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Walter Orr Robert Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Sciences
2008 – Isaac Held, Carl Gustaf Rossby Award
2001 – Brian Soden, Henry G. Houghton Award
1994 – Jerry Mahlman, Cal-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal1994, Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Henry G. Houghton Award
1972 – Joseph Smagorinsky, Carl-Gustaf Rossby Award

American Geophysical Union Fellows

2023 – Rong Zhang
2020 – Thomas Knutson
2020 – Gabriel Lau
2018 – Tom Delworth
2017 – Stephen Griffies
2012 – Ronald Stouffer
2011 – Arlene Fiore
2008 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy
2005 – John Robert Toggweiler
1998 – Hiram Levy
1995 – Isaac Held

American Meteorological Society Fellows

2018 – Leo Donner
2018 – Shian-Jiann Lin
2018 – Rong Zhang
2014 – Thomas Delworth
2012 – Thomas Knutson
2009 – P.C.D. “Chris” Milly
2007 – Ronald Stouffer
2005 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy
1999 – Ants Leetmaa
1991 – Isaac Held
1991 – Ngar-Cheung Lau
1986 – Isidoro Orlanski
1985 – Gareth Williams

American Physical Society Fellow

2021 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy

American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows

2020 – Isaac Held, “for major scientific advances in atmosphere science, climate, and geophysical fluid dynamics.”
2019 – Leo Donner
2016 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy

Presidential Awards

2025 – Nadir Jeevanjee, Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists
2023 – Thomas Delworth, Meritorious Rank Award
2019 – Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Meritorious Rank Award
2010 – Isaac Held, Distinguished Rank Award
2009 – Charles Stock, Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists
2006 – Arlene Fiore, Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists
1993 – Jerry Mahlman, Distinguished Rank Award
1980 – Joseph Smagorinsky, Distinguished Rank Award