UCAR at a glance
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National Center for Atmospheric Research
NCAR Director's Office
Advanced Study Program (ASP)
Sponsors recent Ph.D. scientists, bringing them to NCAR to expand their own studies and enrich the center's research. ASP also offers seminars, workshops, and colloquia on areas of particular importance to the atmospheric sciences.
Atmospheric Chemistry Division (ACD)
Focuses on global- and regional-scale air quality and problems related to the complex interactions among the oceans, ecosystems, and atmosphere. Researchers study the cycles of chemicals in the atmosphere, ways in which the composition of the air evolves, and the impact of human activities on atmospheric chemistry.
Atmospheric Technology Division (ATD)
Provides observing facilities and instrumentation to the atmospheric and related sciences, including advanced radars, research aircraft, flux measurement systems, and integrated sounding systems. These facilities allow investigators around the globe to gather raw data required for their research programs.
Climate and Global Dynamics Division (CGD)
Contributes to better prediction of weather and climate through the development of models that promote understanding of the physical causes of past, present, and future climates and large-scale atmospheric and oceanic dynamics.
Environmental and Societal Impacts Group (ESIG)
Improves understanding of the interactions between environmental processes and society through research and workshops. ESIG staff seek insights and conduct assessments into how societies might better understand and cope with severe weather and climate shifts.
High Altitude Observatory (HAO)
Studies the variable nature of the sun and the impacts of solar outputs on the terrestrial environment, particularly the earth's upper atmosphere. This research is relevant to prediction of the lifetime of satellite orbits, disruption of high-latitude communications networks, damage to
high-latitude power grids from solar-produced magnetic storms, variability of stratospheric ozone, and possible changes in the earth's climate.
Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division (MMM)
Investigates the basic physical processes that govern the weather: how the atmosphere and the earth receive incoming radiation, scatter and absorb it, and retransmit it; how weather and climate are affected by terrain and the characteristics of soil and vegetation; how severe storm systems develop and die; and how precipitation processes occur.
Research Applications Program (RAP)
Contributes to improved aviation safety through research on thunderstorms, icing conditions, snowstorms, wind shear, and turbulence. RAP develops early warning systems that help save lives and aircraft at U.S. airports and increase the efficiency and capacity of the nation's air space.
Scientific Computing Division (SCD)
Provides supercomputer resources and associated parallel processing capabilities on a variety of equipment. As of mid-1996, SCD's data archives held over 60 terabytes. SCD's networking activities include participation in the National Science Foundation's very-high-speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) and Advanced Research Projects Agency's Advanced Communication Technology Satellite (ACTS) project.
UCAR Office of Programs
Office of the UOP Director
Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET®)
Improves the weather services of the nation by involving research scientists and academic scholars in the continuing education of weather forecasters and the development of new forecast techniques. The COMET program offers courses, symposia, and workshops and produces interactive computer-based learning systems.
Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications (IITA)
303-497-8697
Provides researchers at UCAR and elsewhere with access to real-time data streams and a user-oriented overview of data, software, and information services available through UCAR. The IITA is a joint UOP/NCAR effort.
Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS)
This new entity, formed through a merger of formerly independent offices, assists the international and national research community in planning, organizing, and implementing research programs, including international field projects.
Unidata Program Center
Helps over 120 universities acquire and use atmospheric and other geophysical data for research and teaching; develops computer programs for data manipulation and display; provides current weather data to universities via the Internet.
University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO)
Provides technical support and equipment to investigators using Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements to better understand such phenomena as earthquakes and volcanoes. UNAVCO also investigates ground-based and satellite-based GPS as a tool for observing the atmosphere.
Visiting Scientist Programs (VSP)
Operates programs designed to support and broaden education and research in the atmospheric, oceanic, and related sciences through fellowships to researchers at graduate, postgraduate, and more advanced levels.
Other UCAR Activities
Office of the
UCAR President
UCARweb Home Page
For further information, contact:
All programs and divisions listed above may be contacted as follows:
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000
303-497-1000
and accessed through the
Web gateway.
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Office of Development and Government Affairs
Development: promotes the growth and well-being of UCAR's programs and activities by seeking grants from public and private sources, assisting with educational project development, and supporting UCAR-affiliated programs that pursue environmental, social, and economic sustainability, including the Boulder County Healthy Communities Initiative and the Colorado Industrial Ecology Project.
Government Affairs: monitors the activities of the U.S. Congress and keeps the UCAR community informed on budgetary, legislative, and policy developments involving UCAR, NCAR, UOP, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies of importance to the atmospheric and related sciences.
UCAR Foundation
Acts as UCAR's exclusive agent for commercial endeavors. Created in 1986, the nonprofit UCAR Foundation includes officers and a board of directors drawn from UCAR, universities, and the private sector. Revenue flows to the foundation through equity positions, license fees, and royalties on the sales of resulting commercial products. A substantial portion of the proceeds that are generated are returned to UCAR for the advancement of its scientific programs.
UCAR
NCAR
UOP
For more information, contact Milli Butterworth,
butterwo@ucar.edu.
Prepared for the web by Jacque Marshall
Last revised: Mon Apr 10 13:23:27 MDT 2000