ARM Veteran Jensen Receives DOE Distinguished Mentor Award

Published: 20 April 2026

Photo of Mike Jensen in blue shirt with crossed arms standing in front of a photo gallery wall with the text "Environmental Science and Technologies" — Michael Jensen is an inaugural recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Distinguished Mentor Award for Workforce Development. Photo is by Timothy Kuhn, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Michael Jensen, a meteorologist at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, is an inaugural recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Distinguished Mentor Award for Workforce Development.

Awarded to mentors from across DOE’s 17 national laboratories, the honor recognizes the vital role scientific and technical mentors play in cultivating the next generation of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Jensen, the interim chair of Brookhaven’s Environmental Science and Technologies Department, is one of four individuals honored in the award program’s first year.

Many of Jensen’s mentorship activities have come through his work with the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility.

Jensen, an ARM data user since 1996, currently chairs ARM’s User Executive Committee. This committee aims to support new and veteran ARM users by serving as the official voice of the user community in its interactions with ARM management.

Jensen also has a wealth of experience mentoring students and scientists while leading ARM field campaigns. Most recently, he was principal investigator for ARM’s TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER), which collected convective cloud observations in the Houston, Texas, region from 2021 to 2022.

Before and during TRACER, Jensen mentored groups of Brookhaven interns who aided with forecasting activities and data analysis. Most of the interns participated through DOE’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program, which places undergraduate students with national laboratory scientists and engineers to work on research or technology projects that support DOE’s mission.

Jensen and his fellow awardees will be celebrated at a virtual ceremony later in 2026. Each honoree will receive $10,000 for research and mentoring-related development.

Learn more about Jensen and read the full award announcement on the Brookhaven National Laboratory website.

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ARM is a DOE Office of Science user facility operated by nine DOE national laboratories.