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Dr. Ambrose Jearld, Jr. Receives 2026 AGU Warren Washington Lifetime Achievement Award for Advancing Inclusive Science Excellence

Former SEA trustee and co-founder of the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program honored for decades of work making science more diverse and inclusive.  

Woods Hole, MA – Dr. Ambrose Jearld, Jr. won the AGU Warren Washington Lifetime Achievement Award for Advancing Inclusive Science Excellence. This award recognizes exemplary efforts made throughout a section scientist’s career for developing program/s, systems, or networks that have led to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Earth and space science professions.

AGU, the world’s largest Earth and space sciences association, celebrates individuals and teams through its annual Honors and Recognition program for their accomplishments in research, education, science communication, and outreach. These honorees have transformed our understanding of the world, impacted our everyday lives, improved our communities, and contributed to solutions for a sustainable future.

Dr. Jearld’s innovative contributions to inclusive science have had a measurable and lasting impact on the geoscience community. He convened the landmark “Expanding Opportunities in Ocean Sciences” conference series, beginning at Hampton University in 1995 and continues through the early 2000’s. The conferences set an agenda for inter-agency inclusive science that he spent the next three decades leading and implementing. 

A centerpiece of that implementation was his work to co-found the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, bringing together the six scientific institutions in Woods Hole (NEFSC, Marine Biological Laboratory, Sea Education Association,USGS, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Woods Hole Research Center) to advance shared goals in workforce development and championing inclusive science. One of the first committees of its kind, to unite major scientific institutions with different goals, structures, and stakes together around a common agenda, he served as chair for over a decade. 

Dr. Jearld served as a member of SEA’s Board of Trustees from 2010-2017 and remained a Member of the Corporation until 2023, providing SEA with guidance and support over a range of topics from diversifying their student population to making connections with traditionally underrepresented institutions such as HBCUs.

While working at this high level, advocating within national agencies to transform the pathways and support systems that could meet the changing needs of the national workforce, Dr. Jearld has never forgotten to center students. His most direct and lasting contribution to student development has been the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP), which he co-founded in 2009 and served as Director until 2016. This 10-week summer internship program, co-sponsored by the six scientific institutions, intentionally paired students with mentors who could support both their research and their development of their own scientific identity, and has directly impacted the lives of more than 200 undergraduate students. He is generous with his mentorship; once a student has come into his orbit, he looks and asks after them, offering suggestions and support that are individualized to their needs. It is hard to overstate how remarkable his commitment is – even as the world has changed, and students’ needs along with it, he has been on the leading edge of inclusion when many of his contemporaries lagged behind.

 “We are thrilled that Dr. Jearld has been named for this prestigious award.  This is an apt reflection of his work, but also of his dedication to students, to diversity, to learning, and to ocean health,” said Dr. Richard Hopper, President of SEA. 

“I am honored and humbled to receive the 2026 AGU Warren Washington Lifetime Achievement Award, for Advancing Inclusive Science Excellence”, Dr. Jearld said. “This award, named in honor of Warren Washington, is especially meaningful to me, as I have deep admiration and respect for Dr. Washington.  He was one of the first scientists to create environmental models to assess the impact of humans on land, sea, and ice.  His brilliance and dedication were an example for so many, in particular we Blacks in the Geosciences.”

Dr. Jearld, an AGU Fellow, joins a distinguished group of scientists, leaders and communicators recognized by AGU for an AGU Fellow advancing science. Each honoree reflects AGU’s vision for a thriving, sustainable and equitable future supported by scientific discovery, innovation and action.

Honorees will be recognized at AGU’s 2026 Annual Meeting, AGU26, which will convene with more than 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries in San Francisco, CA, and online everywhere December 7 to 11, 2026. Reflecting the theme “Where Science Connects,” the Honors Ceremony at AGU26 will recognize groundbreaking achievements that illustrate science’s continual advancement, inspiring the AGU community with their stories and successes.

Dr. Jearld will also be presenting ED44A-04Non-Traditional by Design: A Century of the National Technical Association in the Geosciences and Adjacent Sciences at AGU26 in session ED44A on Thursday, December 10, 2026, at 17:00.

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Sea Education Association (SEA) is an internationally recognized leader in ocean education, located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.  SEA provides undergraduate, gap, and high school students the opportunity to study ocean sciences and blue humanities through immersive experiences in Woods Hole, aboard one of SEA’s tall ships, and within coastal communities around the world. For more information about SEA’s programs and impact, please visit www.sea.edu.  Media Contact: Onjalé Scott Price, oscottprice@sea.edu

AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million professionals and advocates in the Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. AGU programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events, and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.