T. R. Oke is Professor Emeritus and former Head of Geography at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. His research interests focus on urban climate and the energy and water balances of cities. Dr Oke has published more than two hundred scientific publications, and is author of the widely-used text Boundary Layer Climates (1987). He founded and was the first President of the International Association for Urban Climate. He has won several medals, including the Meteorological Service of Canada's Patterson Medal in 2002, for distinguished service to meteorology, and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's Massey Medal in 2005, for substantial contributions to understanding the microclimates of cities.