DRI Recognizes Lily Hahn as the 2022 Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award Winner for Women in Atmospheric Sciences

DRI is pleased to announce that the 24th annual Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences has been awarded to Lily Hahn of the University of Washington, Seattle. An award ceremony commemorating her achievement was held at the DRI campus in Reno on Nov. 2, 2022.

The Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences is an annual competition recognizing the published works of women pursuing a master’s or Ph.D. in the atmospheric sciences or any related program at a university in the United States. The award is presented to women graduate students with outstanding academic publications and includes a $1,500 prize. This award has been presented annually by DRI since 1998 and is the only such honor designated for graduate women in the atmospheric sciences in the United States.

Hahn, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle, is receiving this award for her paper Seasonality in Arctic Warming Driven by Sea Ice Effective Heat Capacity. Hahn’s research investigates the processes that cause Arctic warming to peak during early winter under rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases. A fundamental cause of this warming pattern is the transition from frozen sea ice to open ocean, which maintains warmer temperatures later in the year and produces peak warming in early winter. This information is essential for developing accurate models for projecting the timing and extent of Arctic warming under climate change scenarios.

“I’m very excited to receive the Wagner Memorial Award,” Hahn says. “I’m grateful to the selection committee for their time and consideration, and to my advisors and coauthors for their collaboration and guidance. I really enjoyed this project as an opportunity to design idealized model experiments to isolate and understand the mechanisms of Arctic warming. It’s awesome to receive recognition, the opportunity to share this work at DRI, and inspiration to continue pursuing creative and impactful research as I wrap up my Ph.D.”

Lily Hahn (right) the 2022 recipient of the Peter Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences, with Vera Samburova (left), Chair of Award Committee and Associate Research Professor at DRI.

Credit: Jessi LeMay/DRI.

Runners up for the 2022 award include: 2nd place – Lyssa M. Freese from the Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the paper Antarctic Radiative and Temperature Responses to a Doubling of CO2.

3rd place – Tehya Stockman from the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder for the paper Measurements and Simulations of Aerosol Released While Singing and Playing Wind Instruments; and Yingxiao Zhang from the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan for the paper Projected Climate-Driven Changes in Pollen-Emission Season Length and Magnitude Over the Continental United States.

About the Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award

Ms. Sue Wagner — former Nevada Gaming Commissioner, Nevada Lieutenant Governor, DRI Atmospheric Scientist, and widow of Dr. Peter B. Wagner — created the Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences in 1998. Dr. Wagner, a faculty member at DRI since 1968, was killed while conducting research in a 1980 plane crash that also claimed the lives of three other Institute employees.

In 1981, Dr. Wagner’s family and friends established a memorial scholarship to provide promising graduate students in DRI’s Atmospheric Sciences Program an award to further pursue their professional careers. Since 1998, this opportunity has extended specifically to women pursuing graduate education across the nation.

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About DRI

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.