Prof. Emeritus Richard Johnson named AAAS Fellow

Professor emeritus of atmospheric science Richard H. Johnson has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He and another CSU faculty member, animal scientist Temple Grandin, were among the 396 honorees Feb. 17 during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas. They were presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin. The new AAAS Fellows were recognized for their “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”

Johnson was honored by the Section on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science for his “creative design, execution and analysis of field experiments that have given insight into the interaction of convective clouds with large-scale atmospheric circulation.”

Johnson joined the CSU faculty in 1980. His research has been in atmospheric convection and mesoscale dynamic processes in the tropics and mid-latitudes, and the interaction of convection with the planetary boundary layer. Severe convective storms, the tropical Madden-Julian Oscillation, and clouds in the tropics and their central role in global atmospheric circulation have been among his areas of study. A specific focus of study has been on the Asian monsoon, which affects over half the world’s population.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes nearly 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The mission of the non-profit AAAS is to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and public engagement.

Photo: Richard Johnson shakes hands with AAAS President Susan Hockfield at the AAAS Fellows Forum Feb. 17.