The Japanese Oceanographic Society has selected State of Florida climatologist and Florida State University Professor of meteorology and oceanography James J. O’Brien as a recipient of its 2006 "Uda Prize."
O’Brien—FSU’s Robert O. Lawton Professor of Meteorology and Oceanography and the director of FSU’s Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies—received the prestigious award in recognition of his long-term contributions as a JOS member, particularly through his education and support of young people from Japan.
He is the first non-Japanese scientist to receive the Uda Prize or any other award from JOS.
Commemorating the late Professor Michitaka Uda, the annual Uda Prize is awarded to a JOS member who has shown outstanding leadership of a research group or contributed notably to the education of oceanographers or the general public. The award ceremony will be held Mar. 28, 2006, in Yokohama, Japan, during the JOS spring meeting.
A member of FSU’s faculty for more than 35 years and perhaps best known for his early, basic research into El Niño, O’Brien has been the recipient of myriad professional honors and citations. He is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a Foreign Fellow in the Russian Academy of Science and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, among many others.