NSF facilities & education

Pat Kennedy, Bart Geerts

input fromPeggy Lemone, Vanda Grubisic, Bob Rauber, Brigitte Baeuerle, Ian McCubbin, Donna Kliche, Kevin Knupp,

Bruce Albrecht, Jeff McWirther, Don Murray, Bill Brown, Mike Poulot, Mike Daniels, Vidal Salazar, and

others

where are the students?• problem: real need to recruit students in atmospheric

measurements– how do instruments work?– how to collect data?– how to do science with the data

• solution: collaboration is needed– have a few experts (from NCAR,CSU,UWyo…) travel around the

country to teach in person (aircraft instruments, chemistry, soundings, radar …)

– develop a series of online modules or some interactive webcasts– take advantage of fortuitous opportunities

• scientists in the field can give seminars• facilities in the field can be visited by nearby universities

– Good planning and collaboration needed

getting students in the field• Student participation in the field is expensive, hard to get funded, but

worthwhile– education proposals with some science usually get hammered for being weak on

education

• three levels of participation– survey level (peer reviewed literature, google …)– virtual operations center, V-CHILL, real-time MIPS & radar …– field participation

• Solution:– contact facility managers to get students involved (may reduce deployment cost)– science proposals with a strong education component tend to be more successful

(eg RICO) – supplemental REUs …

connecting coursework to research

• problem:– traditionally, field results trickle through into

courses via pubs & books– students get little chance to hone their skills in

using real data and do science with it.– data tend to demand steep learning, thus

students tend to have a myopic view

– develop ‘case studies’ around a specific topic• compare to COMET/NWS Case Study Library of operational data• include the range of data found in the field catalog

– datasets must be readily accessible– spatial context: IDV– P/Is must work with EOL to

• select relevant dataset (e.g. best day)• provide a brief synopsis of the science questions that motivated the

collection of these data• describe / provide links of datasets available• provide the necessary software (free download)

– EOL case studies should be centrally archived– newsletter!

solution: using (old) field campaign data for education

more thoughts

• newsletter contents– educational opportunities, e.g. in upcoming field campaigns– new case studies published– EOL summer engineering interns– CSU Engineering REU– National Radar Facility Opportunities– specific REUs (NSF, NASA …)– etc

the following slides were not used in the summary presentation

Education goals for NSF observing facility use:• Developing next generation of researchers• Supplying material for “classroom” use• Giving exposure to the observing equipment

Facility access methods:• Standard NSF proposal (RICO, J. Hallet 1991)• Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)• Virtual interactions (VCHILL, remote tours)

• REU (CSU Engineering)• EOL Engineering Summer Program• Senior Thesis projects tied to facilities• VCHILL• Student Positions during field campaigns• RICO Student Flight• Airborne Mission Flight Planning Opportunities during HEFT /

airborne certification flights• Advantage of physical location of CSU/WY/NCAR Facilities (REU?) &

others here in Boulder (DOWs, NOAA equipment….) • National Radar Facility Opportunities• Mission Briefings – “Elluminate”• Use of sat comm set-up to follow GV• “Teachers on Sea” equivalent• Milagro – Windows to the Universe• Bilingual education• Gap in understanding of what an instrument can do and the skill of

working on an instrument• Case studies• Use of test beds• Exposure to planning, basic analyses, data quality control• Combine with cultural experience

questions

• How do we advertise opportunities?• Who has time?• How much funding does it take?• Luddite• Publication pressure• Field Campaigns appealing

atmospheric researchobservational facilities

trends (in US)• the number of research aircraft has declined• the number of laboratories has declined

(cloud chambers, wind tunnels, remote monitoring labs …)

• the number of course offerings on atmospheric measurements/instrumentation has declined

• the number of MSc/PhD graduates focusing on ATSC experimental measurements has declined

during a field campaign

• a field campaign can be a very motivating and formative experience for young graduate students– e.g. RICO

• bringing additional students into the field is expensive

• Virtual Operations Center• spatial context: use of IDV to enable real-time

operations

post-field-phase:using field campaign data for

education • ACE-1: Aerosol Characterization Experiment • ACE-Asia: Aerosol Characterization Experiment, Asia-Pacific Reg

ion

• ARCSS: ARCtic System Science • ATLAS: Arctic Transitions in the Land-Atmosphere System • BAMEX: Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experimen

t

• CaPE: Convection and Precipitation/Electrification Experiment • CASES: Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study • CEPEX: Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment • CPPA: Climate Prediction Project for the Americas• CuPIDO: Cumulus Photogrammetric Insitu Doppler Obersvations • DYCOMS-II: The Dynamics and Chemistry of Marine Stratocumul

us Phase II: Entrainment Studies

• EPIC2001: East Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes in the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere System

• FASTEX: Fronts and Atlantic Storm Tracks EXperiment • GAPP: GEWEX Americas Prediction Project • GCIP: GEWEX Continental-Scale International Project • GHP: GEWEX Hydrometeorology Panel • INDOEX: INDian Ocean EXperiment • IHOP: International H2O Project • ITEX: International Tundra EXperiment • Lake-ICE: Lake-Induced Convection Experiment • La Plata River Basin Project (LPB) • Monsoon Experiment South America

• MILAGRO: Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations

• MICROFRONTS: Microfronts Experiment • NAME: North American Monsoon Experiment • OHHI: Oceans and Human Health Initiative • PACDEX: PACific Dust EXperiment • PACS: Pan American Climate Studies • RAINEX: Hurricane Rainband and Intensity Change Experiment • REFRACTT: Refractivity Experiment For H2O Research And Colla

borative operational Technology Transfer

• RICO: Rain In Cumulus over the Ocean • SALLJEX: South American Low-Level Jet Experiment • SBI: Shelf-Basin Interactions • SHEBA: Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic • STORM-FEST: USWRP/STORM Fronts Experiment Systems Test • STORM-WAVE: USWRP/STORM Weather Assimilation and Verifica

tion Experiment

• TOGA-COARE: TOGA Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment

• T-REX: Terrain-Induced Rotor EXperiment • UMRBPP: Upper Missouri River Basin Pilot Project • VAMOS: Variability of the American MOnsoon Systems • VOCALS: VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study • VORTEX: Verification of the Origin of Rotation in Tornadoes

EXperiment • WVSS: Water Vapor Sensing System http://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/