Citation for Brent Holben
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Atmospheric Sciences section is pleased to present the 2015 Yoram Kaufman Unselfish Collaboration for Research Award to Brent Holben of the Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, for “his seminal theoretical and experimental contributions to the remote sensing of clouds and aerosol properties, particularly in the development of AERONET.”
Brent’s vision and pioneering work led to the creation of the AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) project in which a worldwide network of Sun/sky radiometers enabled observations of the aerosol optical thickness, size distribution, and refractive index at numerous sites around the world. AERONET is the first and continues to be the only global network of ground-based aerosol measurements, embraced and supported by countries and scientists throughout the world. Throughout his illustrious career, Brent has taken special pride in working with students and collaborating with a large number of scientists in Europe, the United States, South America, Africa, and Asia. He has published journal articles with over 700 different scientists, including scientists from more than 50 countries. As of March 2015, he has 27,970 article citations, with an h-index of 79, and his work has penetrated the communities of ground-based and satellite remote sensing of aerosol properties. Among his 372 publications to date, his singular AERONET overview paper of 1998 has garnered over 2420 citations alone—a rare record in the field of geosciences.
The following statements from one supporting letter succinctly summarize Brent’s spirit of unselfish collaboration: “Brent has always been exceedingly generous with his time, with his knowledge and with his resources. … I was a recipient of Brent’s mentoring and encouragement, even through some tough times.” Another supporting letter stated, “It is beyond my imagination what formidable tasks Brent has faced in establishing and operating all of these AERONET sites for the past two decades. The most challenging among all tasks is undoubtedly countless travels required to set up, inspect and trouble-shoot any problems that arise.”
We are extremely pleased to present the 2015 Kaufman Award to Brent Holben.
—William K. M. Lau, University of Maryland, College Park
Response
It is indeed a great honor for me to receive the Kaufman Award. I worked with Yoram, who shared his intellect, insight, and unbridled curiosity with all he touched. For me, this honor is an opportunity to recognize the very large and diverse community that shaped my oftentimes circuitous career through their generous cooperation. My work is most easily road-marked by the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). Although I can’t possibly acknowledge all those who influenced my career, I would like to cite a few here, including my older brother, Rick, who blazed the path from farm to academia. My colleague Compton Tucker inspires science with art, humor, and friendship. Robert S. Fraser, a pioneer in the field of aerosol remote sensing, spent endless hours with me shaping my early understanding of remote sensing science at NASA. Yoram, from the Goddard Space Flight Center, and Didier Tanré, from Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), were ever present in the formative years of AERONET, and indeed, LOA remains an integral part of the global AERONET program today. The AERONET folks at Goddard are brilliant and dedicated, led by Tom Eck and Ilya Slutsker, who have been with the program from the beginning. Michael King, from the Earth Observing System (EOS) Project Science Office, provided the resources, intellect, and autonomy to allow the project to grow to a global resource for the remote sensing community. Thus, my job was simple: use AERONET to understand aerosol properties for satellite validation. The project expanded, the collaborations grew, and research flourished. I have been extremely fortunate to be affiliated with NASA, researchers, educators, students, and movers of various types in over 80 countries. It is those people who have participated with me, the AERONET program, and like-minded researchers across the globe to foster aerosol research for the benefit of all. It is in recognition of those people that I humbly accept this honor inspired by Yoram and as a tribute to his legacy of selfless cooperation.
—Brent Holben, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Citation for Christos Zerefos
The AGU Atmospheric Sciences section is pleased to present the 2015 Yoram J. Kaufman Unselfish Cooperation in Research Award to Professor Christos Zerefos, Research Center for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, for “his outstanding contributions in advancing the sciences of ozone, aerosols and ultraviolet radiation through international collaborations.”
Professor Zerefos is known internationally for his research in stratospheric ozone depletion and his studies demonstrating the interconnections between ozone, tropospheric aerosols, and ultraviolet radiation. Over the past several decades, he has been a leading force in developing and promoting ozone and ultraviolet radiation measurements in Greece and around the world.
Professor Zerefos has over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals, about 25% of which are in AGU journals. These publications are only a small part of his contributions to the advancement of ozone science. Most important, throughout Professor Zerefos’s career, he has worked tirelessly to train and promote young scientists, including developing numerous research programs at traditionally nonresearch institutions. He has organized several large international ozone conferences, including the 1988 and 2004 Quadrennial Ozone Symposia and a symposium to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol. In recognition of his leadership, he was elected as president of the International Ozone Commission in 2008.
Professor Zerefos’s record of research and service in ozone studies was recognized at the 10th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol with the award of the prestigious United Nations Environment Programme Global Ozone Award. In addition to his role as both scientist and mentor, Professor Zerefos has applied this scientific expertise in the service of the government of Greece and the European Union (EU). He served as an adviser at the ministerial level on ozone depletion and ultraviolet B threats and as the science-policy interface at the EU with similar responsibilities.
In the words of one of the supporting letters, “his knowledge and enthusiasm in promoting atmospheric science were an inspiration for all who came in contact with him, particularly the young generations of atmospheric scientists.”
We are extremely pleased to present the 2015 Kaufman Award to Professor Christos Zerefos.
—William K. M. Lau, University of Maryland, College Park
Response
It is a great honor for me, and I am humbled to receive the 2015 Yoram Kaufman Award from AGU. I was even more touched when one of several supporters of my candidacy congratulated me by saying that “I think that you really deserve this recognition on a great research carrier and service to our community. It is very rare that a non-American wins such an AGU prize, making it even more special.” Among other awards, I will particularly treasure this award because it will remind me of the decades of collaboration with both younger and elder colleagues in a period when man-made global changes have been on the front page in all international media. I would like to thank my colleagues who have offered me this honor, which also treasures the memory of an important scientist and colleague, who left us tragically in 2006, Yoram Kaufman. Not only tragedy but also the science of the atmosphere and the observations of our environment have been invented and thoroughly studied in Greece in the past 25 centuries. My base of activities has always been in this beautiful, but unfortunate in history, country. Working always with the international community on the complex processes in nature kept me and still keeps me involved in the fast-growing scientific cloud of global change. Today’s research can be successful only through team work, something that I have incorporated in all my life. This is why I feel great respect for all the excellent scientists with whom I have collaborated over the past 40 years. As Socrates said, “γηράσκω αεί διδασκόμενος” (“As I age, I always learn”).
—Christos S. Zerefos, Academy of Athens, Greece.
Citation: AGU (2015), Holben and Zerefos receive 2015 Yoram J. Kaufman Unselfish Cooperation in Research Award, Eos, 96, doi:10.1029/2015EO035175. Published on 9 September 2015.
Text © 2015. The authors. CC BY-NC 3.0
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