Maria A. A. Rugenstein

CL Climate: Past, Present & Future

The 2024 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Maria A. A. Rugenstein for outstanding research in climate dynamics and the ocean’s influences on atmospheric feedbacks.

Maria Rugenstein is one of the most promising scientists of her generation in the field of climate dynamics. Her research and publications have fundamentally improved our understanding of climate variability on multiple timescales, the response of the climate system to anthropogenic climate change and have provided important insights into the role of the ocean therein. Rugenstein has presented these results in numerous invited lectures across the world. After graduating from ETH Zürich and holding post-doctoral positions at ETH and Max Planck Institute in Hamburg, Rugenstein is currently Assistant Professor at Colorado State University. In addition to her research achievements, Rugenstein is active in various national and international leadership roles, including in the LongRun model inter-comparison project, designed to study atmosphere-ocean circulation and feedback mechanisms over centuries to millennia. She has also received accolades for her work as reviewer of scientific papers, and has co-organised a major international scientific meeting on climate sensitivity. She is further an outstanding mentor for early career scientists, balancing high expectations with flexibility, openness and fairness. Rugenstein’s research achievements, mentoring abilities, and service to the community only six years from receiving her PhD make her a worthy recipient of the Climate: Past, Present and Future Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award.