Royal Meteorological Society

The Royal Meteorological Society traces its origins back to April 3 1850 when the British Meteorological Society was formed as "a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general". It became The Meteorological Society in 1866, when it was incorporated by Royal Charter, and the Royal Meteorological Society in 1883, when Her Majesty Queen Victoria granted the privilege of adding 'Royal' to the title. As of 2008 it has more than 3,000 members worldwide. The Chief Executive of the Society is Professor Paul Hardaker. [ [http://www.rmets.org/faq.php RMetS website FAQ] ]

Mission

Advancing the understanding of weather and climate, the science and its applications, for the benefit of all

Membership

Membership is open to anyone with an interest in meteorology or related sciences. Associate Fellows may be any age and do not require any specific expertise in meteorology. Fellows normally require a formal qualification in a subject related to meteorology plus five years experience and must be nominated by two other fellows.

Benefits of membership

Both Fellows and Associate Fellows receive the monthly magazine "Weather". They may also attend, free of charge, meetings arranged by the Society and are eligible for travel and conference bursaries and to be proposed for awards and prizes. Fellowship of the Society is a formal statement of professional competence and those elected to it are entitled to use the title Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (FRMetS). Both Associate Fellows and Fellows can vote at the Annual General Meeting and Special General Meetings. Members of the Society also have the opportunity to become involved in the many varied and interesting areas of work of the Society.

Programmes of Work

The Society has a very broad programme of work including:
* developing education resources for primary and secondary schools and for teacher CPD
* promoting public engagement and dialogue on weather and climate science
* providing evidence-based policy support to Government
* encouraging continuing professional development (through NVQ/SVQ) and offering professional accreditation as a Chartered Meteorologist (CMet)
* awarding grants and bursaries to young scientists working in meteorology
* recognising excellence through the programme of international awards and prizes
* developing quality standards for meteorological service providers
* publishing five international science journals
* a comprehensive national meetings and conference programme

The Society's Journals

The Society has a number of regular publications:
* [http://www.rmets.org/activities/publications/index.php Weather] : a monthly magazine with many full colour illustrations and photos for specialists and general readers with an interest in meteorology. It uses a minimum of mathematics and technical language.
* [http://www.rmets.org/activities/publications/index.php The Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society] : as one of the world's leading journals for meteorology publishes original research in the atmopheric sciences. There are eight issues per year.
* [http://www.rmets.org/activities/publications/index.php Meteorological Applications] : this is a journal for applied meteorologists, forecasters and users of meteorological services and has been published since 1994. It is aimed at a general readership and authors are asked to take this into account when preparing papers.
* [http://www.rmets.org/activities/publications/index.php International Journal of Climatology] : has 15 issues a year and covers a broad spectrum of research in climatology.
* [http://www.rmets.org/activities/publications/index.php Atmospheric Science Letters] : an electronic only publication for short communication.

All publications are available online but a subscription is required. However certain "classic" papers are freely available at [http://www.rmets.org/activities/publications/index.php Classic papers] .

Local Centres and Special Interest Groups

The society has several Local Centres across the UK [ [http://www.rmets.org/activities/groups/centres/index.php Local Centres] ] .

There are also a number of Special Interest Groups which organize meetings and other activities to facilitate exchange of information and views within specific areas of meteorology. [ [http://www.rmets.org/groups/SIG/index.php Special Interest Groups] ] These are informal groups of professionals interested in specific technical areas of the profession of meteorology. The groups are primarily a way of communcating at a specialist level.

The current special interest groups are:
*Association of British Climatologists
*Atmospheric Chemistry
*Data Assimilation
*Dynamical Problems
*History of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography
*Meterorological Observing Systems
*Physical Processes
*Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography
*Weather Forecasting
*Weather Service Providers

Presidents

A full list of those who have served as president of the society is included in the society's web site. [ [http://www.rmets.org/about/history/presidents.php List of Presidents] ] A partial list is presented below:

* 2008-present: Professor Julia Slingo OBE
* 2006-2008: Professor Geraint Vaughan
* 2004-2006: Professor Chris Collier
* 2002-2004: Dr Howard Cattle
* 2000-2002: Dr David Burridge
* 1998-2000: Professor Sir Brian Hoskins CBE FRS
* ...
* 1970-1972: Frank Pasquill FRS
* 1968-1970 Sir John Mason FRS
* ...
* 1959-1961: James Martin Stagg, chief meteorologist for Operation Overlord in 1944
* ...
* 1945-1946: Gordon Manley
* 1942-1944: David Brunt
* ...
* 1920-1921: Reginald Hawthorn Hooker
* ...
* 1901-1902: William Henry Dines FRS
* ...
* 1869-1870: Charles Vincent Walker
* 1867-1868: James Glaisher FRS
* 1865-1866: Charles Brooke FRS
* 1863-1864: Robert Dundas Thomson
* 1861-1862: Nathaniel Beardmore MInstCE
* 1859-1860: Thomas Sopwith
* 1857-1858: Robert Stephenson MP FRS
* 1855-1857: Dr John Lee FRS
* 1853-1855: George Leach
* 1850-1853 & 1864: Samuel Charles Whitbread FRS

Other related links

*Compilation of atmospheric dispersion models
*UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau
*Met Office
*MetLinkInternational

References

External links

* [http://www.rmets.org/ The RMetS website]
* [http://www.admlc.org.uk/index.htm UK ADMLC web site]