Claire Pettersen Receives AOS Early Career Alumni Award
November 20, 2024
The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS) at UW–Madison is thrilled to announce Dr. Claire Pettersen was selected to receive the inaugural AOS Early Career Alumni Award.
The purpose of the new award is to recognize alumni who in their early career have made impactful contributions to the atmospheric and oceanic sciences and community, or the general welfare of society.
Pettersen is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan. She received her MS (2014) and PhD (2017) from AOS and also worked at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at UW–Madison as an instrumentation innovator.
At Michigan, Pettersen leads the Cold Precipitation Processes Group, which focuses on cold-season and cold-location precipitation events (snow, mixed-phase, rain), as well as the associated cloud, thermodynamic, and synoptic characteristics. She has a prolific publication record with more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts and datasets and active research grants funded by NASA, NOAA, and NSF. One of the recent projects is the $4.8 million NSF-funded Snow Sensitivity to Clouds in a Mountain Environment (S2noCliME), where Pettersen is the lead Principal Investigator.
The Early Career Award adds to the growing list of distinguished awards that Pettersen has received. Others include a German Research Foundation Mercator Fellow, a NASA New (Early Career) Investigator Award, and a NASA PMM Annual Science Team Award. Beyond accolades, she has an extensive track record of mentorship and professional service, highlighting her commitment to supporting students, scientists, and the wider atmospheric and oceanic sciences community.
The award will be formally conferred at a to-be-determined date in 2025 at the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences building, in Madison, Wisconsin.