Congratulations to SCIPP’s Dr. Derek Thompson, who recently won the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC) New Scientist Award! His research on a gridded wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) climatology for the southeastern United States used athlete and worker safety thresholds to identify where WBGT is hazardous for individuals most at risk for heat-related health impacts. The selection committee for this prestigious award ranked submitted manuscripts based on their clarity, organization, figure quality, creativity, scientific merit, and applied climatological nature. Thompson will present his research at the 2026 AASC annual meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska.