Professor Penny Endersby, a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton, awarded the The Chartered Institute for IT winner of the 2021 Society Medal
Professor Penny Endersby, the Chief Executive Officer of the Met Office and a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton, has been announced by the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, as the winner of the 2021 Society Medal.
The Met Office is one of the world's leading national weather and climate organisation with a substantial programme of research covering all timescales from nowcasting through to long term climate predictions, on behalf of government, public and commercial customers, and including outreach programmes into the developing world.
With a strong science and technology background, Chief Executive, Professor Endersby has helped the Met Office embrace new technologies and developments in science, enabling the organisation to stay at the forefront of weather and climate science. The introduction of new multimillion-pound supercomputing capability, overseen by Professor Endersby, will take forecasting and climate projections to the next level when up and running later this year.
The Met Office is committed to the use of environmentally responsible IT and aims to reach Net Zero by 2030 while at the same time offering expertise and support to other organisations on their own road to Net Zero.
In a varied research and management career she has led teams delivering everything from national defence capability support to the science and advice underpinning the national weather service.
"I am delighted and honoured to have been awarded the BCS Society Medal. This is very much a reflection of the commitment of many teams at the Met Office to the use of cutting edge IT to deliver world class science in the fields of weather and climate prediction, at a time when this is absolutely critical." Professor Penny Endersby, Met Office CEO
As a Visiting Professor in Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton University, Prof. Endersby has also demonstrated a long-term commitment to computing education and the development of world-class data scientists. Professor Endersby has a particular interest in the development and exploitation of innovative ideas, especially the re-use of research for multiple purposes. She promotes diversity in engineering and science and is keen to assist students and researchers in developing their innovative ideas towards commercialisation through the Future World's mentoring scheme.
The BCS award panel cited her exceptional commitment to enriching weather forecasting and the predictive analysis of climate change by leading unprecedented investment in the Met Office's IT systems. The Medal recognises her outstanding contribution to making digital technology good for society and the environment.
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About the Met Office The Met Office is the UK?s National Meteorological Service, providing 24x7 world-renowned scientific excellence in weather, climate and environmental forecasts and severe weather warnings for the protection of life and property. www.metoffice.gov.uk The Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services provides world-class guidance on the science of climate change and is the primary focus in the UK for climate science. Its work is, in part, jointly funded by BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).
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About BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT BCS is the professional body for the IT industry. Our purpose, as defined by Royal Charter, is to promote and advance the education and practice of computing for the benefit of the public. With almost 60,000 members, BCS brings together academics, practitioners, industry and government to share knowledge, promote new thinking, inform the design of new curricula, and shape policy.