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Celebrating our colleagues

The Atmospheric Stars Awards aim to thank and reward people for making a positive difference at work, going above and beyond in their activities, and being exceptional colleagues. We hope that the Atmospheric Stars Awards are a way to celebrate those who work at NCAS.

Nominations

You can put forward any colleague – or team of colleagues- at any time of year, by completing the Atmospheric Stars Award nomination form.

We encourage you to take some time to consider which of your colleagues have made a real difference to you, your team, your projects, or NCAS as a whole.

Nominations should describe how a colleague, or a team, has gone ‘above and beyond’ in relation to all five values of excellence, agility, fairness, integrity, and innovation. A nomination should include references to all of these values.

Overall, we are encouraging people to share examples of high-performing, supportive, flexible, responsive, creative, problem-solving, and trusted colleagues who have gone the extra mile to support you or your work.

All staff are eligible and anyone in NCAS can nominate anyone else. A person/team can only receive one award a year – but you can make as many different nominations as you like – and the activity they are being recognised for should have been completed in the past year.

Contact Lisa Banton, Head of People, EDI & Workforce Development, if you have any questions about the nomination process.

The deadline for nominations is Friday 20 September 2024 at 5pm.

Award winners

Each award includes a certificate of thanks and a special gift.

Atmospheric Stars Awards 2022

Debi Cruz, Finance and Contracts Officer, based at FAAM

Nathan Betts, Communications Officer, based in Leeds

Vicky Boult, Research Scientist, based in Reading

Laurents Marker, Software Developer, based in Leeds

Nicola Bray, Senior Administrator, based in Reading

Jim Hopkins, Research Scientist, based in York

Ali Gane, Workforce Lifecycle Manager, based in Leeds

Doug Anderson, FAAM Aircraft Deployment Specialist, based at FAAM

Maria Russo, Research Scientist, based in Cambridge

David Appleyard, IT Technical Projects Specialist, based in Leeds

Frances Dee, People and Community for Change Officer, based in Leeds

Dave Sproson, FAAM Data Scientist, based at FAAM

Katie Read, Research scientist and Technical Specialist for the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory, based in York

Harriett Richardson, Communications Manager, based in Leeds

Atmospheric Stars Awards 2023

Lindsay Bennett, Radar Instrument Scientist, based in Leeds

Charles Chemel, Senior Research Scientist in Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Science, based at Leeds

Ioana Colfescu, Senior Research Scientist and Climate and High Impact Weather Co-Theme Leader, based at Leeds

Gemma Cornish, Operations and Administration Project Support Manager, based in Leeds

Hayley Gray, CEDA Frontline Helpdesk Operator, based at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysi

Paul Griffiths, Research Scientist, based in Cambridge

Jenny Hudson-Bell, Research Administrator, based at York

Oscar Martínez-Alvarado, Senior Research Scientist, based at Reading

Kim Mernagh, Administrator, based at Reading

Ryan Neely, Associate Professor in Observational Atmospheric Science, based in Leeds

Hannah Price, Science Partnership Lead, based at FAAM Airborne Laboratory

Alan Woolley, Site Lead for the FAAM Airborne Laboratory

Steve Woolnough, Site Lead for Reading

The Net Zero Digital Research Infrastructure Team, a collaboration of 9 operational and science colleagues across multiple sites

The WOEST Campaign Team, a team of over 20 colleagues comprising scientists, operational staff and a student

Awards panel

The awards panel is chaired by Lisa Banton, Head of People, EDI and Workforce Development.

There will be no Directors involved in the decision-making. We are keen to encourage early-career staff to join the panel as a development opportunity.

The anticipated time commitment will be a few hours to read the nominations, and then to participate in a panel meeting (via Zoom) to decide on the successful nominations.

Nominations will be assessed in November, and awards will be presented to staff in December.

If you are interested in being part of the panel, please email Lisa Banton.

Further recognition

We still urge you to follow formal recognition processes at your host institutions, as the Atmospheric Stars Awards aren’t intended to be a substitute or to impact on promotions or other employee rewards.

NCAS also recognises staff for long-term commitment. Long Service Awards are presented for each decade of service to NCAS.