Dr Roelof Burger from the School of Geo and Spatial Sciences at Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences of the North-West University (NWU) has been awarded the Weather Modification Field Meteorologist Distinguished Service Award by the Weather Modification Association.

The award was given to Dr Burger in the United States of America in recognition for outstanding service in the conduct of weather modification and research.

“I want to congratulate Dr Roelof Burger on the outstanding achievement,” said Prof Eno Ebenso, executive dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.” “It is just reward for his exceptional work and his commitment to help those communities where weather modification can better the lives of so many people.”

Dr Burger is a physical geographer with a focus on atmospheric science. His research focuses on atmospheric processes and its interaction with human activities. This includes topics like air pollution, climate change, severe weather and cloud seeding. He studies the atmosphere through different observation platforms, such as aircraft, weather radar and ground based instrumentation and ultimately aims to model processes using statistical and numerical methods.

Dr Burger also plays an integral part in the Lekwena Weather Radar, a state-of-the-art weather radar that will study and quantify storms and precipitation in the greater Potchefstroom area. The radar was recently launched by the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Dr Edna Molewa.

Dr Roelof Burger from the NWU has been awarded the Weather Modification Field Meteorologist Distinguished Service Award by the Weather Modification Association.