Grace de Souza Wins 2nd Place in Climate Change Research Group's Dissertation Award

Image: Grace de Souza. Photo credit: Grace de Souza. 

Grace de Souza's dissertation 'Convective-Permitting Model Projects Greater Reduction in Updraft Cores Over the Congo Basin' has been awarded 2nd place in Climate Change Research Group's 2023 Dissertation Prize. 

Climate Change Research Group offers the annual prize for best and second-best undergraduate dissertation by students studying at a UK university that is based on original research in any area of climate change research.

Grace's dissertation compared two model configurations, analysing the impact of horizontal resolution and convective parameterisation on the simulation of convective features over the Congo Basin, a region whose climate is important both locally and globally. Grace did this for the present day and projected into the future, finding some key differences between model configurations, which provided further evidence for the value of convective permitting models.

Grace's dissertation was motivated by her interest in climate modelling, and the importance of reliable climate projections for communicating and adapting to climate change.

When asked about what winning the award meant to her, Grace said, “I feel very grateful for this recognition, especially for a piece of work I found so interesting. I enjoyed the challenge presented by my dissertation, particularly learning to code in Python. I am immensely grateful to my tutors, in particular my dissertation supervisor, for their support.”

Congratulations, Grace!