Professor Vilho Väisälä Awards
Professor Vilho Väisälä Awards
The Professor Vilho Väisälä Award for an Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation was established in 1985.
A second Professor Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of Instruments and Methods of Observation in Developing Countries was established in 2004.
Both awards are granted biannually. They are administered by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and they carry a medal, diploma and a cash prize of US$ 10,000. The award ceremony shall normally take place during the conjoint WMO Technical Conference on Meteorological and Environmental Instruments and Methods of Observation (TECO).
The first Professor Vilho Väisälä Award presentation ceremony took place in 1986 at the Vaisala headquarters in Vantaa. The presentation of the very first award coincided with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Vaisala Oy. Since 1986, the call for papers eligible for the Professor Vilho Väisälä Award has been made annually to the permanent representatives of the WMO in each country.
For guidelines and criteria for both awards, please visit WMO site for the Professor Vilho Väisälä Awards.
Professor Vilho Väisälä Award Winners
2018 Award Winners
26th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Asko Huuskonen, Mikko Kurri and Iwan Holleman
Improved analysis of solar signals for differential reflectivity monitoring, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 9, 2016, p 3183-3192
4th Award for Development and Implementation of Instruments and Methods of Observation in Developing Countries
Fan Yang, XingHua Yang, Wen Huo, Mamtimin Ali, XinQian Zheng, ChengLong Zhou and Qing He
A continuously weighing, high frequency sand trap: wind tunnel and field evaluations, Geomorphology 293, April 2017, p 84-92
2016 Award Winners
25th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
R.J. Dirksen, M. Sommer, F.J. Immler, D.F. Hurst, R. Kivi and H. Vomel
Reference quality upper-air measurements: GRUAN data processing for the Vaisala RS92 radiosonde, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 7, pp 4463-4490, 2014
3rd Award for Development and Implementation of Instruments and Methods of Observation in Developing Countries
Ms Amudha Bakthavathsalu and Dr Rabia Merrouchi
Survey on alternatives for dangerous and obsolete instruments: evaluation of the questionnaire and recommendations for alternatives, WMO, IOM Report No. 117, 2014
2014 Award Winners
24th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
A. Overeem, H. Leijnse, and R. Uijlenhoet (all Netherlands)
The paper Country-wide rainfall maps from cellular communication networks was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 110, No. 8, pp. 2741–2745, 2013, in 2013.
2012 Award Winners
23rd Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
R. Boers, M.J. de Haij, W.M.F. Wauben, H. Klein Baltink, L.H. van Ulft, M. Savenije (all from the Netherlands) and C.N. Long (United States).
The paper “Optimized fractional cloudiness determination from five ground-based remote sensing techniques” was published in the Journal of
Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, D24116, doi:10.1029/2010JD014661, in 2010.
2010 Award Winners
22nd Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Pamela Heiselman, David Priegnitz, Kevin Manross, Travis Smith and Richard Adams from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received the 22nd Award for their paper entitled
"Rapid Sampling of Severe Storms by the National Weather Radar Testbed Phased Array Radar"
It describes a study that demonstrated the Testbed Phased Array Radar's capability for adaptable, high temporal resolution scanning of quickly developing features in deep convective storms.
2008 Award Winners
21st Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Olivier Bousquet, Pierry Tabary and Jacques Parent du Châtelet
received the 21st Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for their paper entitled
“On the value of operationally synthesized multiple-Doppler wind fields”.
2nd Award for Development and Implementation of Instruments and Methods of Observation in Developing Countries
Luca G. Lanza (Italy), Michel Leroy (France), Christophe Alexandropoulos (France), Luigi Stagi (Italy) and Willem M.F. Wauben (The Netherlands)
were awarded the second Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for their paper entitled
“WMO laboratory intercomparison of rainfall intensity gauges”.
2006 Award Winners
1st Award for Development and Implementation of Instruments and Methods of Observation in Developing Countries
Messrs John Nash, Richard Smout and Mark Smees - all three from the United Kingdom Met Office - and Mr Carl Bower of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in USA.
The scientists were awarded for their joint paper entitled:
"Dar-es-Salaam demonstration test of IMS 1600 Integrated Upper-air System, Dar-es-Salaam, 18-30 October 2004".
2005 Award Winners
20th Award for nn Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Professor Joseph P. Pichamuthu, at M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore.
The award was made in recognition of his work in the area of meteorological optical range (MOR)–fundamental in the safe landing of aircraft.
2004 Award Winners
19th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Iwan Holleman and Hans Beekhuis of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Netherlands
"Analysis and Correction of dual PRF Velocity Data"
2003 Award Winners
18th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Urs Baltensperger, Dr. Martin Gysel and Dr. Ernest Weingartner of the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
“Hygroscopicity of Aerosol Particles at Low Temperatures. New Low-Temperature H-TDMA Instrument: Setup and First Applications”
2002 Award Winners
17th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Rolf Philipona of the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC), Switzerland
“Sky-scanning Radiometer for Absolute Measurements of Atmospheric Long-wave Radiation”
2001 Award Winners
16th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Ulrich Görsdorfand and Mr. Volker Lehman of the German Weather Service
“Enhanced Accuracy of RASS-Measured Temperatures Due to an Improved Range Correction”
2000 Award Winners
15th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Edgeworth Westwater, Dr. Yong Han, Mr. Jack Sinder, Dr. James Churnside, Dr. Joseph Shaw, Mr. Michael Falls, Dr. Charles Long, Dr. Thomas Ackerman, Dr. Kenneth Gage, Mr. Warner Acklund and Dr. Anthony Riddle, Pilot Radiation Observation Experiment (PROBE)
“Ground-Based Remote Sensor Observations during PROBE in the Tropical Western Pacific”
1999 Award Winners
14th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Barry Goodison and Mr. Paul Louie, Canadian Climate Centre, Dr. Daqing Yang, (China) University of Alaska, USA
”WMO Solid Precipitation Measurement Intercomparison – Final Report”
1998 Award Winners
13th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
M.S. Golubev, D.A. Konovalov, A. Yu. Simonenko, State Hydrological Institute, Russian Federation, Yu.V. Tovmach, Saint Petersburg State Pedagogical University, Russian Federation
“Estimation of Errors in Measurement of precipitation by the Valdai Monitoring System (VMS)”
1997 Award Winners
12th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Bruce W. Forgan, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Australia
“New Calibration Method for Reference and Field Pyranometers”
1996 Award Winners
11th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Dusan S. Zrnic, National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma, USA;
Dr. Alexander Ryzhkov, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at the University of Oklahoma, USA
“Precipitation and Attenuation Measurements at a 10 cm Wavelength”
1995 Award Winners
10th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Anthony C.L. Lee, UK Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK
“Filtering, Sampling and Information Content within Satellite-Derived Multispectral of Mixed-Resolution Imagery”
1994 Award Winners
9th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Dian J. Gaffen, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, MD, USA
“Historical Changes in Radiosonde Instruments and Practices”
1993 Award Winners
8th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. J.P. van derMeulen, The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, Netherlands
“The WMO Automatic Digital Barometer Intercomparison”
1992 Award Winners
7th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. D.J. Griggs, Mr. D.W. Jones, Mr. M. Ouldridge, Mr. W.R. Sparks, UK Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK
“The First WMO Intercomparison of Visibility Measurements”
1991 Award Winners
6th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Mr. Malcolm Kitchen, UK Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK
“The Comparison of the Performance of Upper-Air Stations in the Global Observing Network”
1990 Award Winners
5th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Peter May, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Australia; Dr. Richard Strauch, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado, USA; Mr. Kenneth Moran, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado, USA
“The Accuracy of RASS Temperature Measurements”
1989 Award Winners
4th Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. John Nash, UK Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK; Dr. Francis J Schmidlin, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado, USA
“WMO International Radiosonde Comparisons (UK 1984, USA 1985)”
1988 Award Winners
3rd Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Prof. Dietrich Sonntag, German Weather Service, Potsdam, East Germany
“WMO Assman Aspiration Psychrometer Intercomparison”
1987 Award Winners
2nd Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Dr. Boris Sevruk, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Department of Geography ETH, Hydrology Section, Zurich, Switzerland
“Towards the Universal Precipitation Gauge of the Future”
1986 Award Winners
1st Award for An Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation
Mr. C.G. Collier, Assistant Director of the UK Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK “
Accuracy of Rainfall Estimates by Radar”