UGA students awarded AMS scholarships

Fourth-year students in the Franklin College department of geography and atmospheric sciences program Shania Green and Jada Lamar have been selected to receive 2024 American Meteorological Society Senior Named Scholarships. The national scholarships range from $1,000 to $26,000 and help further the education of outstanding graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a career in the atmospheric and related oceanic or hydrologic sciences.  

Green, an atmospheric sciences and geography double-major, won the Warren and Mary Washington Scholarship, named for Warren Washington, one of the most distinguished African-American scientists in any field. UGA students have won 4 out of the last 5 Washington Scholarships. Green was awarded a 2023 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which supported her summer internship with the National Weather Service Weather Forecasting Office in Huntsville, Alabama. "I had the opportunity to shadow operational meteorologists and to conduct a research project on probabilistic rainfall totals and how these forecasts can improve flash flood messaging," said Green, who presented the research at the NOAA 2024 Science and Education Symposium.

Lamar, an atmospheric sciences and geography double-major with a Studio Art minor, is the recipient of the Dr. Terry C. Tarbell Scholarship. Named for Dr. Terry C. Tarbell, a U.S. Air Force veteran, this scholarship is awarded to a veteran or student of a veteran. Lamar is also a recipient of the CURO Research Award and is currently conducting research under her mentors on understanding categorical vs continuous graphics used to forecast weather risks. She hopes to present her research at the 105th AMS Annual Meeting in January and the 2025 CURO Symposium. Lamar is serving her second year as president of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) UGA chapter.

"Shania and Jada are stellar representatives of our program and of UGA.  Our university has some of the best atmospheric sciences undergraduates in the nation, and our record of inclusive excellence is setting the bar for our discipline," said John Knox, professor of geography and associate director of the atmospheric sciences program.

Both Green and Lamar are active in the UGA WeatherDawgs program.

Image: Jada Lamar, left, and Shania Green.