Sir Brian to be awarded honour in front of Emperor of Japan
ONE of Britain’s leading climate scientists has been honoured with an international science award, the Japan Prize.
This recognises scientists and researchers worldwide for outstanding achievements that have contributed to the peace and prosperity of human kind.
Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, Emeritus Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading, and Chair of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, has been co-awarded the Japan Prize in the fields of Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure.
The Prize will be awarded at a Ceremony in Tokyo in the presence of the Emperor and Empress of Japan on Tuesday, April 16.
Sir Brian, who has been a member of the University of Reading since 1971, was recognised for his research leading to the establishment of a scientific framework for the understanding and prediction of extreme weather events.
He said: “I am very honoured to be awarded the Japan Prize. It is an honour that I should like to share with my family who have loved and supported me and kept my feet on the ground.
“I would also like to share this honour with my collaborators and students, and with the University of Reading and its Meteorology department in which nearly all my research has been performed.
“When I started my research in weather and climate more than 50 years ago, it was a time of amazing opportunity. There was a wealth of experience of atmospheric behaviour. Computers and the science of the atmosphere were at the stage that we could develop and use computer models like laboratory models to try to bridge the large gap between the existing theory and observed weather systems and observed planetary scale atmospheric motion.
“There were hints that increased skill in weather forecasting on short and longer time scales may be possible. Also, the idea that there could be significant climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions by human activity was starting to be more widely considered in the climate science community.”
He continued: “I have always viewed it as very important to try to use the insights of basic research to aid in the development of weather forecasting and climate projection. The remarkable progress made in both aspects is particularly important at a time when the challenge of human-induced climate change and the associated extreme weather are centre stage.”
The Japan Prize is an international award that recognises contributions to the development of science and technology worldwide. Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, who was knighted in 2007 for services to the environment, won the award alongside Professor John Michael Wallace of the University of Washington.
In September 2022, the University of Reading’s Meteorology building was renamed the Brian Hoskins building in his honour. He had previously served as the Head of the Department of Meteorology.