Helen Cleugh & Kim Reid receive AMOS Awards

21st Century Weather’s Helen Cleugh & Kim Reid have received distinguished awards from the Australian Meteorology & Oceanographic Society (AMOS).

Morton Medal: Helen Cleugh 

The 2024 Morton Medal was awarded to Dr Helen Cleugh, chair of the 21st Century Weather Advisory Board. 

According to AMOS, through her own research, and especially through her research leadership and clear vision, Helen has had a profound positive impact on the national and international fabric of climate science and its people.

As a micrometeorologist, Helen led OzFlux, the Australian contribution to the global FluxNet, and a key ingredient to understanding how energy, water and carbon is exchanged between the biosphere and the atmosphere in the landscape.

The Morton Medal recognises leadership in meteorology, oceanography, climate and related fields, particularly through education and the development of young scientists, and through the building of research environments in Australia.

It is named in honour of Professor Bruce Morton, who mentored a generation of atmospheric scientists and oceanographers, and actively supported AMOS to become a vibrant and national scientific society. 

AMOS Science Outreach Award: Kim Reid

The 2024 AMOS Science Outreach Award went to Dr Kim Reid, a Research Fellow with 21st Century Weather based at the University of Melbourne.

AMOS noted that Kim’s outreach work has spanned local and international outlets. She has written seven articles for The Conversation covering both her own research on extreme rainfall, and also topical events such as explaining the roles of climate change and El Niño in record-breaking events. 

In recognition of Kim’s exceptional science writing, The Conversation has nominated her for the Walkley Awards (twice) and a Quill Award. Kim often appears in written and broadcast media as an interviewee, including ABC News, The Guardian and Al Jazeera.

The AMOS Science Outreach Award recognises AMOS outreach ambassadors, who inspire other AMOS members to undertake science engagement activities, and additionally recognizes those who engage with the public, politicians, schools, businesses and communities, to educate and inform those groups on topics associated with AMOS themes. 

About AMOS

AMOS is an independent society representing the atmospheric and oceanographic sciences in Australia. It currently has over 500 members drawn from the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the university sector, other State and Federal agencies, as well as the private sector. To read more, go to: https://www.amos.org.au/about/