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June 2004
A site to behold: www.ucar.edu
Numerous data
sets in one place. Fast facts about climate and
weather. Overviews showing the breadth of the organization’s
research. Every major UCAR, NCAR, and UOP division
and program at a glance.
These are some of the highlights of the organization’s
new umbrella Web site. Launched on May 26, it showcases
key goals and accomplishments in everyday language
while spotlighting Web pages of individual programs
and providing a research area for scientists.
“This is an invaluable communications tool
worthy of a world-class research institution,” says
UCAR president Rick Anthes. “The site
will increase our presence on the Web as
well as provide important information for researchers
and members of the public alike.”
The redesign is largely the
work of the Web Outreach Redesign and Development
(WORD) group, an interdisciplinary team of staffers
from across the organization. The UCAR President’s Council endorsed the project
last year amid high expectations for raising the
profile of the organization’s research.
Several members
of the WORD team and other contributors to the
new site celebrated the launch on May 26. From
left to right (front row, kneeling): Wendy Abshire,
Leonard Sitongia, Anne Oman, Kathleen Barney,
and Susan Friberg; (back row, standing): Catherine
Shea, Dennis Ward, Debbi Lake, Kris Conrad, Susan
Montgomery-Hodge, Lucy Warner, Markus Stobbs,
Lynda Lester, Don Middleton, Betty Valent, Carlye
Calvin, David Hosansky, Zhenya Gallon, and Rick
Anthes. Go to the web for complete list of WORD members
and contributors.
The umbrella site, at www.ucar.edu, acts as the gateway
to all UCAR, NCAR, and UOP Web pages. The WORD group
will constantly refine and update it.
The previous design was several years old, a considerable
period of time in the fast-changing environment of
the World Wide Web. Its emphasis on links to divisions
and programs within each of the three organizations
sometimes confused users who did not know where
to find information about specific types of research.
The new site, in contrast,
focuses on research initiatives and the broad scope
of atmospheric science rather than organizational
structure. “The main benefit
is it really integrates everything in one place,” says
WORD co-chair Markus Stobbs (SCD), the site’s
designer. “It’s thematic. You can follow
your interests, exploring topics instead of being
bound by organizational structure, divisions, and
programs.”
Catherine Shea of the NCAR
director’s office,
who also co-chairs WORD, adds, “This is an
important step for the whole organization. It makes
us more accessible to the public, and it has the
added benefit of educating ourselves about each other’s
programs.”
Frequent updates
The dynamic site features constantly changing content
and eye-catching graphics and animations.
The new home page has six
slots that are regularly updated. These include
a “fast fact” about
the atmosphere and a spotlight on an internal Web
page (both updated hourly), two recent news releases
(updated every time a news release is issued, which
is about 1–2 weeks on average), and a feature
story on research and a profile of a scientist (both
updated monthly).
From the home page, a user
can click on “Our
Organization,” which has links to all divisions
and programs as well as an overview of UCAR, NCAR,
and UOP. Another link leads to “Our Research,” a
series of pages written by the UCAR Communications
office (which also produces Staff Notes Monthly).
Aimed at the general public, “Our Research” provides
a sweeping overview of the organization’s studies
of the atmosphere and the Earth-Sun system. “It’s
essentially an introductory education on a wide spectrum
of atmospheric science topics that’s pulled
together into a compelling and eye-catching series
of pages,” Markus says.
Users can also link to “News Center,” the
revamped Communications home page, and to “Education,” the
EO home page that also links to additional educational
programs in the organization, such as COMET and GLOBE.
An important feature for
scientists is the “Research
Tools” page. For the first time, scientists
can go to a single Web page for links to a wide array
of data sets, models, computing applications, and
more. The navigation bar also has
a “Libraries” tab that takes users to
the NCAR Library, DLESE, NSDL,
and others.
Packed with information and
easy to navigate, the Web site may spin off a number
of additional benefits. Members of the WORD team
hope it will raise the organization’s
profile with the general public, educators, news
media, and policy makers. Because it provides so
much information about the organization and its research,
several staffers have already noted that it’s
helping them with their work.
SCD’s Lynda Lester, a WORD member who is enthusiastic
about the team’s accomplishments, says, “It
does an elegant job of portraying the expertise,
credibility, and impressiveness of a national research
laboratory.”
Two minutes early
For members
of the WORD team, who volunteered their time for
the project, the months leading up to
the launch proved intense. As Communications staffers
took the lead on writing and editing copy, others
on the production team worked long hours tweaking
the design, tracking down visuals, and overcoming
technical challenges. Zhenya Gallon of Communications,
the site’s interim managing editor, coordinated
the content. About 40 additional staffers pitched
in with contributions and suggested changes.
Under the guidance of Web
Engineering Group system administrator Andrei Rodionov
(SCD), the site went live at 8:58 a.m. on May 26—two minutes ahead
of schedule. Markus, Andrei, and SCD’s Leonard
Sitongia celebrated immediately with a bottle of
sparkling apple cider.
But the WORD group’s work is continuing. Over
the next few months, it will proceed with “Phase
2.” This will include a number of improvements,
such as enabling scientists to personalize the “Research
Tools” page for their needs by using the SCD
Portal. In addition, news features will be turned
into feeds that other sites can use.
“The philosophy of the group is to keep evolving
and stay current with Web technologies,” Catherine
explains.
Several divisions and programs have expressed interest
in adopting the new template for their own Web pages.
WORD has placed the template on the Web at http://word.ucar.edu/template/,
where it can be picked up by anyone in the organization.
The template was designed for flexibility and
ease of use. For developers who want to explore creating
dynamic pages, Leonard created a Java architecture
that gives developers maximum control over the elements
on database-driven pages.
Divisions and programs can
choose to stay with their own Web designs, but
several are already looking into using the new
one. “The WORD interface
really updates our look,” Markus says. “We’re
encouraged by early interest we’re seeing from
groups interested in adopting it.”
Staffers who have suggestions or comments about the
site are encouraged to send e-mail to wordbugs@ucar.edu.
Or they can contact Markus directly
or ext. 1238. •David Hosansky
On
the Web:
The
umbrella site
More
about WORD, including a list of members and contributors
Also in this issue...
Identifying
storms that produce tornadoes
Random
Profile: Raisa Leifer
A
fast way to measure PAN
Commuter
of the Year
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