Sergej Zilitinkevich was an extraordinarily creative scientist. His main research area was boundary layer dynamics and turbulence. He utilized his knowledge widely in different scientific disciplines. Seven organisations have jointly decided to establish the Sergej Zilitinkevich memorial award: World Meteorological Organization (WMO), European Meteorological Society (EMS), International Eurasian Academy of Sciences (IEAS), Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC), Institute for atmospheric and Earth system research (INAR) and National Network, Finnish Geophysical Society, Finnish Foundation for Aerosol Research.
The award is an international award that is delivered annually to a creative scientist who has made breakthroughs in atmospheric sciences or oceanography. Nominations for the award are openly selected within international research networks, particularly those related to Zilitinkevich’s activities.
A call for nominations is sent out each autumn, with a submission deadline end of February the following year. The decision is taken until early April and the awardee is invited to the EMS Annual Meeting in that year, to give an award presentation in a relevant session, where then also the award certificate will be handed over.