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University of Oklahoma meteorology professors Lance Leslie and Michael Richman received awards at the annual Faculty Tribute given by the President's Office Wednesday.

Leslie, also the Robert E. Lowry chair, was awarded the George Lynn Cross Research Professorship. Receiving the GLC Professorship is the highest research honor that a faculty member may receive from OU and is a lifetime appointment.

Acknowledged by peers for distinguished work, criteria include national and international recognition of specific contributions through research in the advancement of their specific academic field. Along with a $6,000 cash award, a permanent salary increase and additional research assistance is included.?

A major research focus for Leslie is hurricanes, both historically and for their possible trends in the future. In specific, Leslie concentrates on frequency, intensity and impact on land masses, such as the United States coastline and other parts of the world.

His approach is two-fold, the first of which is to examine reliable historical data sets and to determine recurring features of hurricane trends over the past thirty years, while taking advantage of the critical advancements in satellite data observations. The second step is to study both past hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina, as well as to perform very high resolution climatological simulations, to assist in understanding and predicting trends in hurricane activity in future decades out to 2060.?

"This came as an unexpected honor," Leslie said, "because it is the highest form of recognition for research work at the university and also because of the quality of awardees that precede me in the School of Meteorology."

Richman was awarded a Regents' Award for Superior Research and Creative Activities. Superior research includes the development and validation of new knowledge to a particular field of study, while contributing original and imaginative accomplishments and advancements.

Especially important to Richman is "the interplay between research and teaching that cannot be emphasized enough," he said.

As well as teaching, Richman has served several terms on the American Meteorological Society's Committee on Probability and Statistics. His recent research focuses on replacing rainfall algorithms from the WSR-88D radar located in Norman with newer methods which provide more accurate rainfall estimates than current techniques and will be sustainable over a broad range of weather conditions. Ultimately, this information can be incorporated in creating an intelligent forecast system that adapts as the weather changes.

"I am very pleased to accept the Regents' Award," Richman said. "It represents recognition of a series of important collaborations. For me, the most gratifying aspect of my role as a professor is bringing cutting edge research into the classroom to my students, who enthusiastically embrace the findings."