International Association for Urban Climate

In this second year of the IAUC Timothy Oke Award for Original Research in the Field of Urban Climatology, we are delighted to announce that three awards will be made: Professor Benjamin Bechtel, at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany; Associate Professor Leena Järvi, at the University of Helsinki, Finland; and Dr Iain D. Stewart, Fellow at the Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto, Canada. These three exceptional early-to mid-career researchers have each made major contributions to the field of urban climate, with their high quality, high impact and highly relevant work.

Benjamin Bechtel

Benjamin received his PhD on remote sensing of urban canopy parameters from the University of Hamburg in 2012, before working as a Research Associate for the CliSAP Cluster of Excellence and in 2019 becoming Professor for Urban Climatology at Ruhr-University Bochum. His work to characterise the morphology and behaviour of cities from satellite data has substantially advanced many areas of urban climatology, especially helping to understand the urban heat island and providing much-needed input data for urban modelling studies. Benjamin is committed to sharing data, tools and knowledge. Thanks to his efforts, software for mapping Local Climate Zones is freely available and used throughout the world. Benjamin is also a committed member of the IAUC community – and was instrumental in establishing this Timothy Oke Award.

Leena Järvi

Leena is a highly regarded researcher in the field of urban micrometeorology who has made numerous innovative, long-lasting and diverse contributions. She consistently works at the leading edge using a range of novel and traditional measurement techniques as well as developing modelling tools to generate new insights. Her outstanding publication record is impressively varied, including significant contributions on air pollution, biogenic and anthropogenic carbon dioxide exchange, cold-climate cities, and the energy and water balance. Leena has built up her research group at the University of Helsinki and collaborates widely – she is an excellent mentor (evidenced by numerous co-authored papers with her students) and a valued member of the IAUC community.

Iain Stewart

Iain is an imaginative and creative scientist, who is internationally renowned for his work on the urban heat island from both historical and scientific perspectives. His work on Local Climate Zones has redefined urban climatology and is used by hundreds of researchers across the world. As well as providing this essential framework, Iain has developed important guidance for conducting urban heat island research to ensure high scientific standards are maintained, and his systematic review of urban heat island studies provides an important historical context for more recent studies. Iain is an excellent communicator who is highly engaged with supporting researchers around the globe. He is an exceptional scholar, highly esteemed for his exemplary approach to science: holistic, innovative and rigorous. His work has had, and will continue to have, an immense influence on the work of others.