Atmospheric Scientist Honored by the American Meteorological Society

Wang (pictured above) is the quality control manager for UAlbany's New York State Mesonet, a network of 126 weather stations across New York.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 11, 2020) – Junhong (June) Wang will soon be recognized within a group of elite atmospheric scientists.

Wang, a research associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences and quality control manager for the University’s New York State Mesonet, was named a 2020 Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) in late July.

AMS fellows are chosen based on “outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.” New fellows are chosen each year by the Fellows Committee from a group no more than two-tenths of 1 percent of all AMS members.

The formal presentation of Wang’s award will occur next January, in conjunction with the 101st AMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans. She is the seventh UAlbany-affiliated researcher (and first woman) to be honored. The others are Aiguo Dai, Lance Bosart, Robert Fovell, Daniel Keyser, John Molinari and Christopher Thorncroft.

“June is a clear international leader in her field and continues to make massive contributions to the professional community, along with educating and mentoring students as well as the public,” said Thorncroft, director of the University’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC). “She is thoroughly deserving of this award.”

“Dr. Wang is a remarkable scientific leader and a pioneer for young females interested in STEM,” added Jerry Brotzge, program manager for the NYS Mesonet. “She leads by example through her hard work, knowledge and vast experience. With many contacts across the meteorological community, June has connected the Mesonet to global leaders and helped push us to the cutting edge. Above all, June’s enthusiasm for research and teaching is infectious. We are incredibly fortunate and honored to have her on our team.”

Wang received her B.S. and Ph.D. in atmospheric science from Peking University in Beijing, China, and Columbia University, respectively. After graduation, she worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Colorado in Boulder and then as a scientist at the Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for 15 years.

At UAlbany, Wang has played an integral role in operating the New York State Mesonet, the nation’s most advanced and largest early warning weather detection network. She’s also passionate about education. Since 2016, Wang has recruited and mentored over 60 undergraduate student interns at the Mesonet Operations Center and regularly leads tours for K-12 and college students at the network’s local weather stations. She also helps lead the University’s annual “Family Earth Day” festivities.

Her research interests include climate variability and change, meteorological instrumentation, weather and climate observations and networks, and ground-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) meteorology. She has produced over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles.

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