Former Lt. Governor Sue Wagner establishes new award
to recognize
early career achievement by DRI scientists
Dr. David Mitchell, an atmospheric physicist at the Desert Research Institute, has received the first Peter B. Wagner Medal of Excellence for his research on the growth of snowflakes in winter storms, the role of clouds in climate processes, and the development of Mexican monsoon storm systems affecting the Desert Southwest. The new award, recognizing achievement by DRI faculty in the early stages of their careers, was established by former Lt. Gov. Sue Wagner in memory of her husband, Peter, a DRI scientist who died in the crash of a DRI research aircraft in 1980.
An assistant research professor in DRI's Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Mitchell has recently generated interest among meteorologists by linking the rise of sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of California with the seasonal monsoon storm systems that affecting several southwestern states and periodically producing severe flash flooding in southern Nevada.
His work has also produced a model to predict the size and concentration of ice crystals in clouds for use in weather and climate applications, and theoretical progress in describing the capacity of different types of clouds to reflect sunlight-an important factor in determining the influence of high altitude clouds in global climate processes. Mitchell has been on DRI's research faculty since 1989.
The Wagner Medal of Excellence includes a $1,000 prize provided by the Wagner family. Sue Wagner, formerly a Nevada legislator and special assistant to DRI presidents prior to being elected lieutenant governor, now sits on the Nevada Gaming Commission. She also established the Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences, an annual national fellowship to encourage women to study in that field.