University awarded Queen’s Anniversary Prize

Our University’s work on climate change has received the 2021 Queen’s Anniversary Prize.

The awards were announced on Thursday evening and recognise outstanding work by UK colleges and universities that shows quality and innovation, and delivers real benefit to the wider world and public through education and training.

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are granted by HM The Queen every two years and are considered the highest national honour in higher and further education.

We also won the prize in 1998, 2006, 2009 and 2012.

The University’s nomination to the awards committee was titled ‘Tackling the Impacts of Climate Change – From Global to Local’. It focused on one of the largest groups of researchers and doctoral students in the UK undertaking science of climate impact and adaptation. The group includes meteorologists, climate scientists, hydrologists, ecologists, soil scientists and ‘big data’ specialists – who use the breadth and quality of science to address one of the biggest environmental, economic and societal challenges facing humanity today.

The nomination spoke of our contribution to:

• Science: We partner with the best scientists globally, leading several national and international networks and centres. Key innovations include building new models of the Earth system at the increasingly high resolution needed to understand local climate; understanding impacts of climate change on rainfall and drought; building new models of climate in cities; improving longer-range weather forecasts; and providing global flood forecasts.

• Teaching: We provide applied training for undergraduate and postgraduate students, developing the next generation of climate analysts and researchers who take this knowledge with them to national weather services and operational weather centres around the world. Working with the World Meteorological Organization and universities in Africa and Southeast Asia we train mid-career scientists and local stakeholders.

• Stewardship: We are world leaders in contributing to international assessments, including the IPCC. We work with governments, international organisations, business and communities to help them use weather and climate science. We contribute to national risk assessment, adaptation and mitigation policies. We develop climate services, including forecasts for humanitarian action, rainfall estimates from satellites for locations with few rain gauges, and forecasting for the renewable energy industry.

• Outreach: We work with schools, community groups and the media to help people understand climate change and its effects. Our climate graphics have been used by millions of people worldwide. We lead the NERC Community for Engaging Environments, helping researchers and diverse communities tackle environment issues through public engagement and leadership.

Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort said, “This award is great news for our University. The recent COP26 summit and the IPCC report published in 2021 amply demonstrate the threat that climate changes poses from the global to the local level. We are proud of the work our colleagues are doing on developing a better understanding of climate change, on how those hardest hit by a warming planet can be supported, and in bringing this critical issue to classrooms and engaging children with it. It represents truly an institution-wide effort involving colleagues from sciences, agriculture and ecology, social sciences, arts and professional services.”

Letter templates: Queen's Anniversary Prize logo

The Queen's Anniversary Prize logo has now been added to University letter templates. These can be downloaded from CPS webpages (letter templates A and D).