NCAR's first crop of faculty fellows

 

University scientists have a new route for arranging a sabbatical-length stay at NCAR. The Faculty Fellowship Program, part of NCAR’s Advanced Study Program (ASP), recently announced its first three appointees (see box). Each will spend three months at NCAR.

The FFP’s goal is to foster fruitful and lasting intellectual collaborations and partnerships between university faculty and NCAR staff. NCAR scientists can apply to visit a campus, while faculty can apply for a stay at NCAR. In either case, ASP supports the exchange, with the potential of some funding for postdoctoral researchers and/or graduate assistants.

“We’re hoping this will be an annual competition and it will grow with the interest and support of the community,” ASP interim director Maura Hagan says.

Applications to FFP are reviewed by UCAR’s University Relations Committee based on scientific merit, the promise of sustained NCAR-university interaction, the goal of increasing diversity in the atmospheric and related sciences, and the applicant’s potential for career development. Preference is given to applicants from UCAR member institutions and academic affiliates.

Faculty who take part in FFP can spend as little as three months at NCAR or as long as a year. NCAR divisions and programs will continue to administer shorter-term visits; appointments beyond a year in length are handled through UCAR Human Resources.

The next round of FFP applications, expected to take place in winter 2005–06, will be announced in the new e-mail service UCAR Update and on the FFP Web site.

“The FFP opportunity extends our commitment to a vibrant visitor and sabbatical program for NCAR,” says NCAR director Tim Killeen. “Through this mechanism, we will provide more resources for meaningful visitor exchanges to and from university campuses.”

The new FFP appointees Weiqing Han (University of Colorado at Boulder) Topic: The Indian Ocean Subtropical Cells in CCSM3: Structure, Dynamics and Impact on Interannual-to-Decadal Climate NCAR collaborators: Gerald Meehl and Aixue Hu Lian-Ping Wang (University of Delaware) Topic: Can turbulence-enhanced collision-coalescence explain the observed rapid development of precipitation in warm clouds? NCAR collaborator: Wojciech Grabowski Arne Winguth (University of Wisconsin–Madison) Topic: CCSM-MUDS: Coupling of a sediment model to CCSM to study sedimentary changes at the Permian-Triassic Boundary NCAR collaborator: Jeffrey Kiehl