Congratulations to Director Prof Andy Pitman who has been awarded an Order of Australia (AO) “for distinguished service to science as a leading researcher, particularly of climate systems and the environment”.

The richly deserved award recognises his significant contribution to climate research in Australia and internationally but it still caught him by surprise.

“For the first time in my life I cannot shake off the feeling of imposter syndrome,” Prof Pitman said.

Prof Pitman was previously the Director and driving force behind the creation of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science (ARCCSS). In this role he led a team that left a legacy of high quality climate research, produced a new generation of young researchers, helped improve Australian climate models and created strong partnerships across disparate areas of the Australian and international climate science communities.

Through his leadership in ARCCSS and now the current ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes he has created a culture of scientific collaboration that extends around Australia and to major partners around the world.

Prof Pitman is an internationally recognized expert on terrestrial processes in global and regional climate modelling, model evaluation and earth systems approaches to understanding climate change. As a Lead Author for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports 3 and 4, he was recognized (along with many others) for his contribution by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC in 2007. He was also a Review Editor of the 2013 IPCC report. 

Some of his other awards include NSW Scientist of the Year Award (2010), the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographical Medal (2009),  and the Priestly Medal for Excellence in Atmospheric Science Research (2004). He jointly won the International Justice Prize for the Copenhagen Diagnosis (2010) and was among Sydney Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people (2010). 

He is a Fellow of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographical Society and the American Meteorological Society.