Recently, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) announced the recipients of its 2027 award and honors. Professor Zhang Zhiwei of Ocean University of China (OUC) was named the recipient of the Nicholas P. Fofonoff Award for his “outstanding contributions to our understanding of submesoscale-to-mesoscale ocean dynamics by integrating observations, theory, and modeling.”
Established in 2007, the award is named after the world-renowned physical oceanographer Nicholas P. Fofonoff (1929-2003). Each year, it recognizes only one young scholar worldwide for outstanding achievements in physical oceanography, with research spanning ocean observations, theoretical analysis, and numerical modeling. To date, 22 scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and China have received this distinction. Professor Zhang Zhiwei is the second Chinese scientist and the first OUC faculty member to receive the award.
Professor Zhang Zhiwei’s receipt of the award is both a strong recognition of his academic excellence and compelling evidence of OUC’s world-class research strength in physical oceanography. As a young scientist nurtured by OUC, Professor Zhang exemplifies the university’s success in fulfilling the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. He has flourished in OUC’s fertile research environment, and his landmark achievements have been made possible by advanced observational research platforms developed through the university’s sustained investment, such as the South China Sea Three-Dimensional Observation Network, as well as by its consistent, long-term support for outstanding young researchers. His success offers a vivid example of OUC’s efforts to strengthen organized basic research and advance original innovation.
