American Geophysical Union Bestows Highest Honor to Sorooshian
Sept. 24, 2025 - The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has awarded the William Bowie Medal to Soroosh Sorooshian, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor and Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering, for “exceptional contributions to water science and practice, and vision in developing a global precipitation product serving millions of people around the world.”
The Bowie Medal is AGU’s highest honor given to one of its over 60,000 members annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to fundamental Earth and space science and for unselfish cooperation in research.
“Professor Sorooshian has led the field not only in original research, but also has worked tirelessly to serve the scientific community and lead important international water programs,” said Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, UCI Distinguished Professor and Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering. “His exceptional scientific impact and international leadership have influenced a generation of researchers, decision makers and organizations on a global scale.”
Sorooshian, an expert in the field of hydrometeorology and founding director of the UCI Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing, has advanced water-resource systems through his application of remote sensing and development of innovative estimation methods for rainfall-runoff models and high-resolution precipitation measurements.
Over more than four decades, Sorooshian has built an outstanding record of paradigm-changing contributions to the hydrologic sciences and has made a lasting impact on research and practice through advancing the interdisciplinary frontiers of hydrometeorology, water resources and space science. He has been a thought leader in research, both as a prolific author and as a leader of important global research initiatives. His insights and tools have underpinned model applications in Earth system research and practice, with his techniques widely adopted as standard modeling practice. He has made major contributions to global hydrological and water management practice by pioneering free access to basic water information for communities across the globe, including Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He has also advised agencies, states and federal government on critical issues of national strategic importance and is well known as a community leader and mentor.
Sorooshian is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, International Academy of Astronautics, European Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He is a fellow of multiple associations including the American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. He has authored seven books and more than 300 peer-reviewed publications.
Of receiving the William Bowie Medal, Sorooshian said, “I’m grateful to the colleagues who nominated me for this honor and to the many graduate students and postdocs, over the years, whose valuable contributions have been the building blocks of the research results recognized by AGU.”
Sorooshian will be given the medal at AGU25, which will convene in New Orleans, Louisiana on Dec. 15-19, 2025. The AGU, a large society of international members across the atmospheric, hydrologic and space sciences, established the medal in honor of William Bowie, the first president of AGU (1920-1922) for his spirit of helpfulness and friendliness in unselfish cooperative research.
– Lori Brandt
