The Council of the Royal Society of NSW warmly congratulates one of its Fellows, Scientia Professor Matthew England FRSN FAA of UNSW Sydney, on the awarding of the Morton Medal from the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) for 2020. The Morton Medal recognises leadership in meteorology, oceanography, climate and related fields, particularly through education and the development of young scientists, and through the building of research environments in Australia.

Professor England is recognised internationally as one of the world’s foremost experts in ocean and climate science, with important discoveries in water-mass formation, ocean-atmosphere interaction, climate modes of variability, and ocean ventilation. He has substantially advanced knowledge of the tropical, mid-latitude and Southern Oceans and their role in climate and climate variability. Over the last 25 years he has mentored 70 young scientists within his team, and many others nationally and internationally.  His work has been highly successful in establishing and building research environments in Australia, including the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) in 2006, the former ARC Centre of Excellence in Climate Science, and most recently the ARC Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) in 2020, of which he will become the Deputy Director.

Professor England is the 2019 winner of the Royal Society of NSW James Cook Medal, its most senior award, and will be presenting online to the Society on Wednesday, 9 December 2020 on the subject of “Dispelling climate change myths—how ocean physics can help explain surprises in the modern-day climate record”