Michael Savage

Background

About Michael Savage

Professor Michael John Savage is internationally recognised in Agrometeorology. He is currently a Professor Emeritus of Agrometeorology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. He was awarded a UKZN fellowship (highest research award) in 1996 and their Distinguished Teacher (highest teaching award)(2014). He has been Acting Head and Head of Department and Head of two Schools, Acting Dean, Assistant Dean, and Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) of Research and Knowledge Systems. His research has spanned 44 years: Agrometeorology, hydrometeorology, energy and water relations including the impact of global climate change, measurement and modelling of surface energy, water transport in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC), in-service training programmes, SPAC energy and water relations, environmental physics, micrometeorology and environmental instrumentation. He is a recipient of the Four Outstanding Young South Africans national award (1990), and the international (senior) Fulbright Scholarship (1992). He was awarded the DScAgric (senior doctorate) by UKZN (2010). The award was the first award in the history of UKZN. In 2014, he was awarded a MScAgric (cum laude) for developing an open web-based teaching, learning and research system for near real-time agrometeorological and environmental applications, data visualisation, and visual literacy serving as a data resource for various disciplines. He received a national excellence award for teaching and learning from the Committee of Higher Education (2015) for this work. He was awarded a gold medal by the South African Society of Crop Production for scientific achievements in crop production research (1998), their Presidents Trophy (2002), their Board Floating Trophy for the best presentation award (2013). He was awarded the inaugural South African Society for Atmospheric Sciences (SASAS) medal (2015/6). His research team was awarded the SASAS Stanley Jackson 2020 award (best research paper in the Atmospheric Sciences) for a publication, by his PhD student and co-authors. He has supervised/mentored/lectured/cooperated with most of the current crop of scientists in Agrometeorology through his postgraduate supervision. He has supervised 19 PhD students, 35 masters (eight cum laude), four post-doctoral students and mentored two members of staff. His postgraduates have received twelve awards, some with purse. He has been a role model for many 100’s of undergraduate students each year. He has lectured courses in introductory to advanced Agrometeorology.