Jennifer Barnett will be awarded the first national Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences by the Desert Research Institute on September 10. Barnett, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Utah, will receive the award and $1,000 prize from former Nevada Lieutenant Governor and DRI employee Sue Wagner.
Barnett's paper submission was titled "A Method for Retrieval of Physical and Infrared Radiative Properites of High Clouds using a Polorization Lidar, an Infrared Radiometer, and a Radiative Transfer Model." It was chosen from papers submitted from the University of Colorado, Boulder; State University of New York, Albany; University of Oklahoma; University of Texas Austin; University of Delaware; University of Utah; University of California, San Diego; University of Illinois; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sue Wagner created the award in memory of her late husband, Dr. Peter Byrne Wagner. Dr. Wagner, a DRI atmospheric scientist, was killed in a March 2, 1980 plane crash while conducting research. The national award was designated to be given to woman pursuing her Masters or Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences or related program at a university in the United States.
The Greater Reno Zonta Club helped underwrite the national award by granting $1,000 to the award fund.