UCAR, NSF NCAR, and UCAR’s Community Programs provide key research-to-operations efforts that deliver real-world impact. Across the organization, we develop information and tools that directly serve society. One new Fellow will be recruited into the Next Gen Applied Science Track, where they will spend two years leveraging expertise and resources across UCAR, NSF NCAR, and/or UCP to complement their ongoing graduate research.
Applicants are expected to reach out to applied science researchers with whom they would like to collaborate. Unlike many internship programs, the Next Gen Fellow is expected to lead the research project, drawing on track mentors for advice and guidance. As such, applicants should have a clear idea of the work they would like to undertake before contacting potential collaborators.
Applicants can explore applied science researchers’ profiles via the Impacts Hub and by emailing contacts at various applied science research groups, listed below.
Learn more about some of our applied research groups:
NSF NCAR Research Applications Laboratory
NCAR’s Research Applications Laboratory is committed to supporting a wide range of sectors in meeting meteorological challenges with creative, practical solutions, leading the way in translating scientific advances into operational forecasting systems, decision support tools, and technologies. These sectors include:
UCP's Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA)
UCP’s Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA) is a multi-agency research center to improve the use of satellite data for analyzing and predicting the weather, ocean, and environment. This multi-agency research center assimilates data from conventional and satellite sources and transitions this research-to-operational and university communities through a robust data infrastructure and open-source software. Applied research at JCSDA focuses on translating scientific advances into practical capabilities within the Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) data assimilation and partner agency workflows. The JCSDA supports scientific development work in several priority areas:
- Radiative Transfer
- Clouds and Precipitation
- Advanced Instruments
- Land Data Assimilation
- Ocean Data Assimilation
- Air Composition
Examples of applied research at JCSDA include:
- Observation integration: evaluating and preparing new satellite, commercial, or in situ data for assimilation
- Model interfacing: improving interfaces between JEDI and Earth system models
- Data assimilation innovation: testing and adapting algorithmic methods, including hybrid and AI-assisted approaches
- Verification and benchmarking: developing metrics and frameworks to assess system performance
- Research-to-operations tools: building software, workflows, and diagnostics that accelerate transition to operational use
UCP's Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC)
UCP’s COSMIC program delivers innovative GNSS radio occultation data and products that enhance weather, climate, and space weather prediction. By processing and disseminating high-vertical-resolution atmospheric profiles from its satellite constellation, COSMIC provides critical observational inputs that improve model initialization and forecasting performance in research and operations. Some examples of applied research topics at COSMIC include:
- Improving data assimilation methods using GNSS-RO
- Thermospheric density estimation from GNSS precise orbit determination for space traffic management
- Identification and characterization of ionospheric scintillation for satellite communications
- GNSS-R (GNSS reflectometry) for fire and soil moisture applications