Earlier this month, the AMS (American Meteorological Society) awarded the prestigious ‘Hydrologic Sciences Medal’ to Dr. Soroosh Sorooshian in its 2021 Awards and Honors program during its 101st AMS Annual Meeting. Every year, the AMS recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations of the weather, water, and climate community. Dr. Sorooshian, an Iranian-American distinguished professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California Irvine, and currently serving as the Director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing, was bestowed this award for “ingenious, ground-breaking work on surface hydrology and the remote sensing of precipitation that has profoundly impacted the field of hydrometeorology”.

Dr. Sorooshian was born in Kerman, Iran in 1948 and is a member of prestigious organizations including the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics. He was also Chairman for the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment of the World Climate Research Programme. In 2009, he was appointed as the California Council on Science and Technology member. 

In 2005, Dr. Sorooshian was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and in 2006 was awarded the Robert E. Horton Memorial Lectureship award by the American Meteorological Society. A year later, he became a recipient of the Great Man-made River Water Prize which was given to him by UNESCO for his scientific activities at University of California and the Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrologic and Riparian Areas, which is a division of the University of Arizona. 

In 2010, he became the recipient of the 4th Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water and was named Honorary Professor of the Beijing Normal University.