Athens, Ga. – Marshall Shepherd, an associate professor of geography in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been named winner of the national Charles E. Anderson Award from the American Meteorological Society.
Shepherd has been on the faculty at UGA since 2006. The award, which Shepherd will receive at the annual banquet of the AMS in Seattle in January, has an inscribed citation which reads: “For outstanding and sustained contributions in promoting diversity in the atmospheric sciences through educational outreach activities for students and scientists in multiple institutions.” Presented annually, the award is in the form of an inscribed wooden book.
“This award is significant to me because of how much I admire men like Dr. Charles Anderson, the first African-American Ph.D. in meteorology and atmospheric sciences,” said Shepherd. “He paved the way for opportunitiesfor me and others. Minorities and women are still severely under-represented in the atmospheric-related sciences, and if this award or my work inspires one young mind, it is a rewarding feeling for me.”
Prior to joining UGA, Shepherd, who earned his doctoral degree in physical meteorology at Florida State University, was employed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
“It also is an honor to receive one of the major awards presented by the most well-known and respected professional organization in my field,” said Shepherd, “and to share in an award received by colleagues who I truly admire and respect as mentors or pioneers, including Dr. Warren Washington and Dr. Joanne Simpson.”
Shepherd is the winner of numerous awards and honors, including receipt in 2004 of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. He is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and was a recipient of the NASA New Investigator Program Award. Recently, Shepherd received a National Science Foundation grant with UCLA and the University of Vermont to develop programs to broaden the pipeline of next-generation climate scientists.
He has been involved in many national and international initiatives, including the World Meteorological Organization Assessment of Aerosols, Clouds and Precipitation; the Climate Working Group of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the National Research Council Climate Change; the U.S. Naval Operations/National Security study; and the U.S. Department of Energy Cool Roofs Initiative Review Panel.
At UGA, Shepherd teaches Introduction to Weather and Climate, Urban Climate, Satellite Meteorology and Climatology, and other undergraduate and graduate classes. His research is funded by NASA, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Energy and the NSF.
In addition, Shepherd is part of the UGA Water Resources faculty, the joint UGA-USDA Southern High Resolution Modeling Center, and the UGA Initiative for Climate and Society.
For further information about Shepherd and UGA’s geography department, see http://www.ggy.uga.edu/.