UCAR at a Glance
NCAR • CISL
• EOL • RAL •
SERE • UOP • Other
activities
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National Center for Atmospheric
Research
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NCAR has implemented its first reorganization in more than a decade.
The overall goal is to enhance NCAR's ability to serve as an open
and collaborative center for the community. For more information,
see the reorganization
Web site.
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Office of the NCAR Director
303-497-1110
Director: Timothy Killeen
Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory (ESSL)
303-497-1620, ESSL home page
NCAR associate director: Annick Pouquet
Atmospheric Chemistry Division
(ACD)
303-497-1401, ACD home page
Director: Daniel McKenna
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.
Climate and Global Dynamics Division (CGD)
303-497-1320, CGD home page
Acting director: James Hurrell
Strives to obtain a comprehensive understanding of climate system components
and the interactions among them, to represent this understanding in
models of the components and of the coupled system, and to further our
understanding by applying the models to scientific and societal questions
and thereby providing a basis for prediction of weather and climate.
High Altitude Observatory (HAO)
303-497-1527, HAO home page
Director: Michael Knölker
Carries out research into the solar interior, the influence of magnetic
fields on the structure and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, and the
links between the variable solar output and Earth's magnetosphere and
outer atmosphere. Because some solar changes influence Earth's space
environment and its climate, understanding solar variability is fundamental
to understanding and potentially predicting the variability of Earth's
atmosphere.
The Institute for Multidisciplinary Earth
Studies (TIMES)
303-497-1620, TIMES
home page
Acting director: Roy Rasmussen
Creates an interactive forum for exchanging research and developing
priorities for multidisciplinary Earth studies, coordinates and conducts
such studies in association with the wider community, catalyzes technology
transfer, and contributes to understanding of human interactions in
the Earth system.
Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division
(MMM)
303-497-8908, MMM home page
Director: Gregory Holland
Investigates the basic physical processes that govern the weather:
how the atmosphere and Earth's surface 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.
Computational and Information
Systems Laboratory (CISL)
303-497-1206, CISL home page
NCAR associate director: Al Kellie
Scientific Computing Division (SCD)
303-497-1272, SCD home page
Director: Al Kellie
Provides supercomputing resources, scientific visualization tools and
facilities, high-speed networks, and associated data-processing capabilities
on a variety of computing machines. SCD assists the atmospheric research
community through a broad research program in computer science. SCD's
data archives included over 2.1 terabytes as of late 2004. Its Advanced
Research Computing System places over 2,800 IBM Power 3 and Power 4
processors at the disposal of university and NCAR scientists.
Institute for Mathematics Applied to Geosciences
(IMAGe)
303-497-1351, IMAGe
home page
Director: Douglas Nychka
Brings mathematical tools to bear on fundamental problems in the geosciences
and serves as a center of activity and an integrator for the mathematical
and geophysical communities. This is being achieved through internal
collaborations among NCAR divisions and institutes and through an external
network of mathematics centers, university groups, and government laboratories.
IMAGe activities emphasize the grand scientific challenges in understanding
the Earth system and the resulting enrichment of the mathematical sciences
from tackling such problems.
Earth Observing Laboratory
(EOL) (formerly the Atmospheric Technology Division)
303-497-8833, EOL home page
NCAR associate director (as of July 2005): Roger Wakimoto
Acting associate director (through June 2005): William ÒAlÓ
Cooper
Develops and provides observing facilities and instrumentation, including
advanced radars, research aircraft, flux measurement systems, optical
instrumentation for trace gas measurement, and integrated sounding systems,
to researchers in the atmospheric and related sciences. These facilities
allow investigators around the globe to gather data required for their
research programs.
Research Applications
Laboratory (RAL) (formerly the Research Applications Program)
303-497-8390, RAL home page
NCAR associate director: Brant Foote
Conducts a comprehensive program of research, development, and technology
transfer applied to problems in areas that currently include aviation,
national security, numerical weather prediction, hydrometeorology, surface
transportation, and related assessments.
Developmental Testbed Center (DTC)
303-497-8197, DTC home
page
Director: Robert Gall
Allows a wide range of new methods and components to be thoroughly
examined in the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) before
they are moved closer to operational use. The center also maintains
code for various versions of WRF and an archive of each day's forecasts,
totaling 200 to 300 terabytes of data per year. Another task is to explore
the best means of verifying the model's performance, especially in predicting
individual thunderstorms and other features that are omitted from, or
more crudely predicted in, current models.
Societal-Environmental
Research and Education Laboratory (SERE)
303-497-1602, SERE home page
Acting NCAR associate director: Thomas Bogdan
Promotes multidisciplinary research activities; develops and sustains
partnerships between NCAR scientists and their colleagues in the university,
government, and private sectors; invests in the 21st-century work force
by supporting undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate career development;
and provides leadership in (a) definition, planning, and execution of
NCAR efforts in education, (b) development of appropriate social science
components for NCAR research activities, and (c) research on human-environment
interactions.
Advanced Study Program (ASP)
303-497-1607, ASP home page
Director: William "Al" Cooper
Acting director: Maura Hagan (through June 2005)
Encourages the development of young researchers in the fields of atmospheric
and related science and directs attention to timely scientific areas
needing special emphasis. The ASP also helps to organize new science
initiatives, supports interactions with universities, and promotes continuing
education at NCAR.
Institute for the Study of Society and Environment
(ISSE) (formerly the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group)
303-497-8117, ISSE home page
Director: Robert Harriss
Studies and illuminates the relevance of coupled natural and human
interactions by conducting research that integrates human-environment
interactions with atmospheric and Earth system dynamics, defining and
implementing science projects and knowledge products for use in decision
making and education, and conducting participatory research on science-society
interactions to inform geophysical research and to develop conceptual
frameworks for improved interactions between science and society.
UCAR Office Of Programs
Office of the UOP Director
303-497-8647, UOP home page
Director: Jack Fellows
Constellation Observing System for Meteorology,
Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC)
303-497-8647, COSMIC home page
Director: Ying-Hwa "Bill" Kuo
Leads a collaborative science project between the United States and
Taiwan to launch a constellation of six microsatellites. Upon its deployment
late in 2005, COSMIC will collect atmospheric remote-sensing data for
weather prediction, climate, and ionospheric and gravity research.
Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology,
Education and Training (COMET)
303-497-8470, COMET home page
Director: Timothy Spangler
Serves the atmospheric community by involving scientists from operational
and academic settings in providing continuing education for weather
forecasters and in developing new forecast techniques. The COMET program
produces computer-based educational materials (available free on its
MetEd Web site), offers courses
and workshops, and supports applied research through its outreach program.
Digital Library for Earth System Education
(DLESE) Program Center
303-497-2656, DLESE home page
Director: Mary Marlino
Supports community and technical aspects of library construction and
management for DLESE, a distributed community effort to improve the
quality, quantity, and efficiency of teaching and learning about the
Earth system at all levels by providing access to high-quality collections
of online resources.
GLOBE
303-497-2641, GLOBE home page
Director: Craig Blurton
Involves hundreds of thousands of primary and secondary students around
the world in partnership with scientists to collect data for research
about Earth's environment. More than 24,000 teachers in 14,000 schools
and over 100 countries have received GLOBE training.
Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS)
303-497-8683, JOSS home page
Director: Karyn Sawyer
Provides scientific, technical, and administrative support services
to the research community for planning, organizing, and implementing
research programs and associated field projects worldwide. Most JOSS
services and products fall into three broad categories: (1) community
support, including planning advice, meeting management, program office
administration, publications, and visitor programs; (2) field program
support, including program planning and design, site surveys, and field
operation logistics and management; and (3) data management, including
system design and the collection, quality control, formatting, and customized
delivery of scientific project data.
National Science Digital Library (NSDL)
303-497-8651, NSDL home page
Director: Kaye Howe
Provides high-quality online materials for students, teachers, and
professionals at all levels; serves as the digital library for NSFÕs
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs.
NSDL's core integration activities are housed in UOP; other parts of
the NSF-funded effort are distributed at several partnering institutions.
Unidata Program Center
303-497-8643, Unidata home page
Director: Mohan Ramamurthy
Provides data, tools, and community leadership for enhanced Earth-system
education and research. Unidata is a diverse community of academic institutions
vested in the common goal of sharing data, as well as tools to access,
analyze, and visualize those data.
Visiting Scientist Programs (VSP)
303-497-8627, VSP home page
Director: Meg Austin
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.
The VSP also supports advisory panels and review teams, workshops, and
summer institutes for the university community and federal-agency sponsors.
Other UCAR Activities
Office of the UCAR President
303-497-1650, home page
President: Richard Anthes
Office of Development and Government Affairs
303-497-2102, home page
Director: Cynthia Schmidt
Advocates for federal budgetary, legislative, and policy issues of
importance to the UCAR community. Monitors the activities of the U.S.
Congress and keeps the UCAR community informed on budgetary, legislative,
and policy developments involving NSF, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the U.S. Department of Energy, and other agencies of importance to the
atmospheric and related sciences. Communicates with Congress concerning
the services provided to society through the UCAR community's research,
research applications, education, and training activities. Promotes
the growth and well-being of UCAR's programs and activities by supporting
grant-seeking efforts in the public and private sectors.
Office of Education and Outreach
303-497-2591, home page
Director: Roberta Johnson
Coordinates and carries out activities that further the UCAR goal of
promoting scientific literacy and advancing all levels of education
and training in subjects related to Earth's atmosphere. Activities are
focused on facilitating learning across disciplines, with an emphasis
on inquiry-based experiences for students, faculty, and the public that
integrate research and education.
Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research
and Science (SOARS)
303-497-8623, SOARS home page
Director: Rajul Pandya
Works to increase the diversity of students pursuing careers in the
atmospheric and related sciences through a four-year undergraduate and
graduate mentoring program and learning community. A central feature
of SOARS is a ten-week summer research experience at NCAR and other
national laboratories. SOARS was established by UCAR through partnership
with NSF. Other program sponsors have included the U.S. Department of
Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Cooperative
Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, and the UCAR university community.
UCAR Communications
303-497-8601, home page
Director: Lucy Warner
Provides news and information about UCAR, NCAR, and UOP activities
to the UCAR community, journalists, and the public; serves as a resource
for internal and external communication policies and practices.
UCAR Foundation
303-497-8898, home
page
President: R.C. Mercure
Acts as UCAR's exclusive agent for commercial endeavors. 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 sale of
resulting commercial products. A substantial portion of the revenue
generated is returned to UCAR for the advancement of its scientific
programs.
UCAR Governance Office
303-497-1658, home page
Governance liaison: Susan Friberg
Administers the process by which UCAR member institutions, academic
affiliates, and international affiliates govern UCAR research, service,
and administrative activities through the UCAR Board of Trustees, Member
Representatives, and their committees.
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