Student Awards

This award recognizes outstanding achievements in research by graduate students in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Students are eligible for this award in the year after they have delivered an AOS 270 graded seminar to the department, a required component of the AOS PhD program. Candidates are nominated by their faculty mentors, and are evaluated on the strengths of their scientific achievements over the course of their PhD. These achievements include scientific publications and presentations, impact in their scientific field, awards and other forms of recognition, and service to the scientific community.
This award was established in 1980 by a donation from the family of Jacob Bjerknes. Bjerknes co-founded the Department of Meteorology (now the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) at UCLA in 1941, and is perhaps best known for his identification of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which strongly influences climate variability in Southern California and various other parts of the world.
 

This award recognizes outstanding contributions to teaching by graduate students in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Students are eligible for the award if they have served as teaching assistants for AOS in the preceding academic year. Candidates are asked to nominate themselves for the award, highlighting their achievements in and contributions to teaching at UCLA. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of the quality and quantity of their teaching, in addition to other indications of excellence, such as the incorporation of evidence-based teaching methods.
This award was established in 1986 by a donation from the family of Morris Neiburger. Neiburger was also a founding member of the Department of Meteorology (now the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) at UCLA. He was an atmospheric scientist who specialized in air pollution, and was an outspoken advocate of measures to improve air quality in Los Angeles.

This award was established in 2000 to honor the memory of Brian Lance Bosart, who was a graduate student in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. The award honors a UCLA student for academic achievement and for typifying Brian Bosart's ideals that a good scientist must also be someone who demonstrates caring and commitment to the wider university, departmental, and local communities. All current AOS graduate students are eligible for the award. The award is voted on by the Bosart Award Committee, composed of faculty and previous awardees, based on nominations from current graduate students.
 

This fellowship supports an outstanding AOS graduate student that is in their first or second year of the PhD program, as selected by the Chair of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. The fellowship was established in 2015 by a donation from Mrs. Chiyoko Furukawa, the wife of Paul M. Furukawa. Dr. Paul M. Furukawa received two meteorology degrees from AOS: a BA in 1955, and an MA in 1960. He subsequently worked on a wide variety of atmospheric science research projects, first at the Stanford Research Institute and then later for the United States Air Force, from which he retired as a Colonel in 1991.

This award recognizes outstanding scientific publications by students and postdoctoral researchers in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Candidates are nominated via a letter from an AOS faculty member or researcher, accompanied by a supporting letter from another scientist that is familiar with the published work. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of their study’s potential for impact in their field, the comprehensiveness of their methodology/analysis, the clarity of their presentation, their leadership of the study, and the strengths of their nomination and supporting letters.

This fellowship is typically awarded to two students each year, in recognition of exceptional progress and promise in a program of doctoral research and coursework in the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Candidates include all departmental graduate students entering their third year of the PhD program, or entering their fourth year in exceptional cases. To be considered for the award, candidates must be nominated by an AOS faculty member or researcher. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of timely completion of, and excellent performance in, the academic work required for the PhD; outstanding results in their PhD coursework; additional indicators of exceptional achievement in their scientific endeavors; and their potential to become a leading scientist or educator.