Sam Childs receives AASC 2021 New Scientist Award in Applied Climatology

Sam Childs has been selected as the winner of the American Association of State Climatologists 2021 New Scientist Award in Applied Climatology for his work on “Projecting End-of-Century Human Exposure from Tornadoes and Severe Hailstorms in Eastern Colorado: Meteorological and Population Perspectives.” Childs was nominated by his adviser, Associate Professor Russ Schumacher, who is also Colorado’s state climatologist.

The award is meant to encourage and recognize research significant to the field of applied climatology. In addition to a plaque and cash award, Childs will receive one year of associate membership in the AASC and paid attendance to present his research at the AASC Annual Meeting in June.

“It is quite an honor to be recognized by the AASC for my Ph.D. work on the impacts of climate and population on a changing hailstorm and tornado landscape across eastern Colorado,” Childs said. “I am thankful to Dr. Russ Schumacher for the nomination as well as the key contributions from him and other collaborators toward this research, particularly Dr. Stephen Strader. The hope is that this work will raise awareness of the potential future human impacts of these two major weather hazards for Coloradans and shed light on the overlapping influences of both climate change and population dynamics in assessing the future risk from hailstorms and tornadoes.”