Professor Hannah Cloke wins 2018 Plinius Medal
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Professor Hannah Cloke receiving the 2018 Plinius Medal.
Professor Hannah Cloke, Department of Geography & Environmental Science, has been awarded the 2018 Plinius Medal for her research on predicting floods now and in the future.
The prize was awarded for outstanding research on uncertainties in modelling flood hazards and understanding risks in operational ensemble flood forecasting, as well as climate impact assessments of future flood risks.
Hannah said: “It is an honour to receive the Plinius Medal. The research I carry out alongside my colleagues is driven by a strong desire to really help communities better predict and prepare for flooding, so it is wonderful that it has been recognised in this way.”
Research projects
As an internationally-respected hydrological modeller and catchment hydrologist, Hannah has produced ground-breaking research on flood forecasting and early warning systems, flood risk management and land surface modelling.
She codirects the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC’s) Flooding from Intense Rainfall programme and works closely with many local, national and international partners including the Met Office, the Environment Agency and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Much of her work focuses on understanding uncertainties in modelling flood hazards and risks, ranging from the small hill slope to the continental, from the meteorological forcing down to flood inundation.
Her work on the quantification of uncertainty in modelling has greatly advanced our understanding of risks, both in operational ensemble flood forecasting as well as in climate impact assessment of future flood risks.
Government advisor
For her work, she was awarded the NERC Early Career Impact Award, and the Water Cycle project she led was selected as runner up for the Guardian Research Impact awards in 2016. Alongside the work on probabilistic flood hazard and risk, Hannah has worked extensively on understanding and perception of risks.
As a seconded expert scientist to the UK government at the time of the 2014 winter floods in the UK, she has also contributed to the public understanding of flood risk frequently addressing this topic in national media. In numerous appearances she was clearly able to explain the scientific evidence basis for flood risk management practices, which also led to her receiving Reading University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Public Communications Prize in 2015.
Announcing Professor Hannah Cloke as the recipient of the 2018 Plinius Medal, the EGU described her as the ‘outstanding flood researcher of her generation’. It said: “Cloke has through her scientific excellence and her high-impact, cross-cutting research greatly contributed to the advancement of the field of natural hazards, which makes her eminently worthy of receiving the Plinius Medal.”