New Year Honours for RMetS Members

Three distinguished Fellows of the Royal Meteorological Society have been recognised in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list, receiving the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for their exceptional contributions to their fields. The Royal Meteorological Society congratulates them on this well-deserved recognition.
 

Professor Paul Monks, awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2024 New Year’s Honours, is a Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Earth Observation Science at the University of Leicester. 

Paul Monks has served as Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) since 2020, and previously to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). His research spans air quality, atmospheric composition, and climate change, and he has held leadership roles, including chairing the Defra Air Quality Expert Group and deputy-chairing the Defra Science Advisory Council. 

As founder of G-STEP, he focused on using space data to boost industry competitiveness. Professor Monks has also been a Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at Leicester, contributing to government science efforts on issues like COVID, Critical Minerals, and the COP process.

Dr. Elizabeth Kent, Associate Head of the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate Research Group, has been awarded an MBE for her work on climate change.

Dr. Elizabeth Kent has spent over 30 years improving historical sea surface temperature records. As associate head of the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate group at Southampton's National Oceanography Centre (NOC), she works with a team to refine historical marine surface observations, studying how data was collected and stored to minimise inconsistencies in measurement methods over time. Dr. Kent’s efforts have been instrumental in ensuring global sea surface temperature datasets are accurate, supporting high-quality data for climate change research. 

Professor Philip Jones, Emeritus Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences and former Director of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA), has been awarded an OBE for his services to climatology. 

With over 45 years of research, including more than 450 papers, Professor Jones is renowned for his work on global and hemispheric surface temperature time series. His achievements have earned numerous accolades, including the Hugh Robert Mill Medal, the Hans Oesschger Medal, and the International Journal of Climatology Prize. 

Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, Liz Bentley said: “On behalf of the Society I would like to congratulate Paul, Elizabeth and Phillip who have been recognised in the King’s New Year Honours, the awards are very well deserved, I couldn’t be happier for our Fellows”.