John Abraham
John Abraham, Ph.D., a professor of thermal sciences in the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering and the university’s 2016 Professor of the Year, has received a Friend of the Planet Award from the California-based National Center for Science Education.
The annual award recognizes those who support the center’s goal of defending the teaching of evolution and climate science.
In addition to Abraham, the award was presented to Katharine Hayhoe, director of Texas Tech University’s Climate Science Center, and environmental scientist and author Dana Nuccitelli.
In making the announcement, the center said all three winners “shine as climate communicators. Katharine Hayhoe excels at building connections between science and society and Dana Nuccitelli and John Abraham have consistently provided timely commentary on the latest developments.”
The center said that Nuccitelli and Abraham “have written about climate change for a clutch of publications but most notably for the Guardian newspaper. Abraham is a thermal scientist-cum-communicator who has been called by one colleague ‘boundly energetic, hugely optimistic, fearless, compassionate and fast-moving.’”
Abraham co-created the Climate Science Rapid Response Team, which connects reporters with scientifically correct sources, and also co-created the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, which helps scientists fight legal attacks.
The center quoted Minnesota broadcaster Don Shelby: “As a leading voice on climate change, Abraham takes on the most powerful people … and defeats them. His power comes from facts and science.”
More information about the awards can be found on the center’s website here.