![](images/meisner.jpg)
AMS President Walter Dabberdt (left) presents Francis W. Reichelderfer award to Dr. Bernard N. Meisner at the 89th Annual AMS Meeting (Photo:Courtesy AMS)
(January 23, 2009) - The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has honored Dr. Bernard N. Meisner, chief of the science and training branch of the National Weather Service Southern Region Science and Technology Service Division, with this year's Francis W. Reichelderfer award. This prestigious national award was presented during the AMS 89th Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. Meisner was recognized "for providing excellent support and devoting his professional life to the nation's environmental services".
During his career, Meisner has earned a reputation as an outstanding scientist, educator and innovative manager. As chief of the Science and Training Branch, he is responsible for professional training, technological applications and collaboration with the academic community. His duties include providing training and technical support for nearly 1,000 meteorologists and hydrologists in 10 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
He has also served on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Oklahoma and the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He has conducted research at the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research in Honolulu, Hawaii; the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center in Washington, DC; and, the USDA Forest Service's Forest Fire Laboratory in Riverside, Calif.
Meisner is the recipient of numerous National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service awards. With particular interest in tropical meteorology, fire weather, numerical weather prediction and applied climatology, he is the author of dozens of articles in scientific and professional publications. He was also selected as a recipient of the 2005 Carnegie Mellon Alumni Merit Award. He was elected a Fellow and has been certified as a Consulting Meteorologist by the AMS. He is also a member and past vice president of the National Weather Association and was honored as the Member of the Year in 2000 for his significant contributions to the Association.
Bill Proenza, regional director of the NWS Southern Region and a fellow Reichelderfer award recipient, said, "Bernard N. Meisner is well recognized for his expertise, dedication and the outstanding quality of his work in enhancing the scientific basis for warnings and forecasts throughout the National Weather Service."
Meisner earned a bachelor's degree in physics and German from Carnegie Mellon University in 1971, and a master's degree (1976) and a doctorate (1978) in meteorology from the University of Hawaii.