Alex DesRosiers first recipient of the William M. Gray Award

(2023-11-10) -- written by Josh Roten

Graduate student Alex DesRosiers was honored on November 3 as the first recipient of the William M. Gray Award, a newly established honor that recognizes outstanding published research into fundamental tropical meteorology and climate. Alex received the award at a special department event and presented his recognized research. He is a Ph.D. candidate advised by Michael Bell entering the final year of his research, which involves the vertical structure of tropical cyclones and how that relates to their intensity as well as their intensification rate. Sarah and Janet Gray attended the ceremony, where Bill Gray’s legacy in tropical meteorology research and contributions to the department were also discussed. Congratulations Alex!

Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science recently honored graduate student Alex DesRosiers as the first recipient of the William M. Gray Award, a newly established honor that recognizes outstanding published research into fundamental tropical meteorology and climate.

DesRosiers, who received the award at a special event on Nov. 3, is a Ph.D. candidate entering the final year of his research, which involves the vertical structure of tropical cyclones and how that relates to their intensity as well as their intensification rate.

The award celebrates the lasting academic contributions of the late CSU Professor Bill Gray, a renowned hurricane researcher. The award includes scholarship funding through an endowment started by Gray’s family after his death in 2016.

DesRosiers was nominated by Professor Michael Bell in the Department of Atmospheric Science for work on a paper in Geophysical Research Letters that uses data from hurricane hunter aircraft to understand how a hurricane’s height relates to its strength. The paper is particularly relevant to the award as a Ph.D. candidate Pat Fitzpatrick in 1995 studied the same types of questions under Gray, but the data was crude, and the relationships were never explored further or published in the peer-reviewed literature. DesRosiers was able to use modern techniques and technology to finish the work and help advance understanding of hurricane structure and intensity change.

DesRosiers explained that he chose to pursue his doctorate at CSU because of its long history in the field, starting with contributions from Gray in the 1960s and ’70s.

“Bill Gray is a household name in the field of tropical cyclone research. To even be considered for an award bearing his name is an incredible honor for me,” he said. “I am thankful for this recognition and the opportunity to follow in his footsteps here while striving to make a fraction of the contributions he’s made over his career. I am also thankful for the many people around me who have always supported me and made this possible.”

As part of the Nov. 3 event, DesRosiers presented his paper’s findings to faculty, staff and students. Additionally, Gray’s children were in attendance and offered remembrances of their father and his time at the university.

Gray was a faculty member in the department from 1961 until his retirement in 2005. His research made enormous contributions to the understanding of tropical cyclone structure, intensification and climatology. He is best known for developing the seasonal hurricane forecasts, which have now been offered for 40 years at CSU and have led to improved understanding of how large-scale climate features, such as El Niño, impact Atlantic hurricanes.

Department Head Eric Maloney said that during his time at CSU, Gray advised 70 master’s and Ph.D. students – many of whom have become prominent leaders in the field.

“This award honors not only his legacy in hurricane research, but also his broader research in tropical meteorology and the legacy it has produced in the department that still resonates today,” he said.

The Bill Gray Award will now be presented annually by the department each fall to the graduate student who submits the best technical manuscript for publication in referred literature during the previous 18-month period on research advancing understanding of the physics and dynamics of the tropical atmosphere and ocean including hurricanes.