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Director's Message
The Research Application Program's central mission is in concert with the stated missions of NCAR and UCAR: to perform and facilitate the transfer of technology developed in the atmospheric sciences to the public and private sectors. RAP's mission is rooted in the founding philosophy of Walter O. Roberts, the first Director of NCAR, who originally saw NCAR's mission as "science in service to society." The role of UCAR/NCAR as an integrator is very much at the heart of RAP's work collaborating with institutions and organizations worldwide, in order to contribute to the depth of fundamental understanding in atmospheric science and develop new sources of support for such research. Subsequently, through a program of technology transfer, RAP expands the reach of atmospheric science into weather-sensitive human endeavors that are not currently using weather information or are using such information in inefficient ways. Educating potential users of weather information in the "art of the possible" is an important element in securing new investments in research and development for application towards the betterment of society. Twenty years ago, RAP began as a small spin-off effort from within the Atmospheric Technology Division with a core group of scientists, still working at RAP today. Currently, RAP has a staff of 149, comprised of 76 scientists, 49 software engineers, 16 managers/administrative staff, and 6 student assistants. RAP's total expenditures in FY02 were $18.56M with $10.87M in modified total direct costs generated for the institution. Historical Perspective RAP's research and development emphases are: in-flight icing; snowfall and freezing precipitation; convective weather forecasting; ceiling and visibility; atmospheric turbulence; numerical weather prediction; land-surface modeling; remote sensing of precipitation; precipitation physics; hybrid automated forecast systems; and algorithm development/enhancement. Please see the Major Scientific Achievements sections for a description of the scientific achievements for each of these areas. The division's principal scientific goal hasn't changed much in twenty years: the attainment of an improved operational capability for detection, warning, and forecasting significant weather events. RAP's principal applications goal is the transfer of that capability to governmental and private sectors through such mechanisms as advanced algorithms or software systems; complete hardware/software systems; education; training; and expert advice. As an integrator, RAP continues to collaborate with the national community (airlines, Juneau, NASA, FAA, other institutions) and the international community with projects in such places as Kuwait, Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong. Accomplishments in 2002 As 2002 winds down, the Annual Scientific Report presents an opportunity for reflection and consideration of the accomplishments of the Research Applications Program over the past year. We have many reasons to be proud. NCAR was one of several laboratories and universities honored by the Federal Aviation Administration's Excellence in Aviation Award. NCAR/RAP is a participant in the FAA's Aviation Weather Research Program (AWRP), which was singled out for the agency's annual award. In Taiwan, the Advanced Operational Aviation Weather System (AOAWS) is now operational and being used by the aviation community in Taiwan. Although NCAR will provide support and maintenance services through 2003, the system is being operated on a daily basis by the Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). The Taiwan CAA is also interested in doing follow-on system enhancements and negotiations are ongoing to this end. * The AOAWS won NCAR's Scientific and Technical Outstanding Accomplishment Award in 2002, which recognizes efforts leading to substantial improvements in scientific and/or technical capabilities, including advances in hardware or software engineering, computer science, and applied science. The project and team was recognized for the "efforts of a large, interdivisional team that has worked together for the past six years". A more detailed description of this award can be found on the AOAWS page in this ASR. NCAR/RAP hosted an International Verification Workshop, "Making Verification More Meaningful," which proved to be very popular (more than anticipated) with approximately 90 participants attending, including meteorologists, hydrologists, statisticians, mathematicians, researchers, and operational staff members from the U.S. and overseas. The opportunity for a cross-pollination of ideas and discussions of issues in the field of verification served to fill a void. The feedback NCAR/RAP received for hosting this workshop was overwhelmingly positive. In March 2002, the NCAR Current Icing Product (CIP) was given the designation of "operational" by the FAA and NWS. This was a critical final step in the technology transfer process. CIP combines information from a numerical weather prediction model and observations to provide a 3D gridded depiction of the likelihood of icing over the CONUS. This product represents a culmination of over 10 years of icing research at RAP. Since 1995, a team of RAP engineers and scientists have been developing and implementing a Four-Dimensional Weather (4DWX) system for the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), and recently, for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The technology transfer work, including range test schedules, has become more demanding and critical since September 11, 2001. In FY03, it is anticipated that live system monitoring and alert notifications will be made available to wireless hand held devices, allowing range personnel to react more quickly when problems arise. ~ Brant Foote, Program Director |
