Fiscal Years 2017 NCAR Metrics

The metrics featured below offer qualitative and quantitative measurements and assessments of the productivity, quality, and impacts that NCAR staff, programs and activities have on our research community, sponsors, and society in general for data reported in the Metrics Database, iVantage HRIS system and OpenSky Database as of October 30, 2017 for fiscal year 2017 (October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017).  Staff continue to update their entries and expand their contributions throughout the year so visit the Metrics Database for the most current data. (2017 METRICS AS OF OCTOBER 30, 2017). Date stamp 10/30/17.

LAB/OBSERVATORY/PROGRAM-LEVEL METRICS

NCAR-Hosted Community Events

Each year, events are hosted by labs, divisions, and programs. These include colloquia, conferences, symposia, tutorials, and workshops.

In FY17, a total of 129 events were hosted: 26 workshops, 11 tutorials, three symposia, five conferences, and 84 colloquia with an average audience of 58 colleagues per event and estimated total audience of 7,538. Event co-sponsors groups included the German Climate Computing Center, EUropean Facility for Airborne Research, the U.S. Department of Energy and universities including the University of Chicago, and Michigan State University.

Facility Tours

Each year, NCAR facilities host tours organized for a specific organization or group. This year, NCAR hosted a total of 69 tours, between the four locations.

NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputer

The NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputer Center (NWSC) is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The Center provides advanced computing services to scientists studying a broad range of disciplines, including weather, climate, oceanography, air pollution, space weather, computational science, energy production, and carbon sequestration. The Center is open to the public for self-guided tours, field trips for school groups, and non-school group special tours. In FY17, the Center received 1551 walk-in public visitors, and averaged 130 visitors per month.

NWSC hosted 28 tours in FY17, for groups ranging in size from 2 to 48 people. Seven tours were by K-12 groups, including the STEM Academy of Info Tech and various local high school visits. Nine groups took science- or technical-related tours, including a group from the Coop GIS of Laramie County. There were eight college or university groups, ranging from the Front Range Community College to the Malaysia & Myanmar Young Leader Delegation from Southeast Asia. There were three tours by political/sponsor groups, including the Wyoming Federation of Republican Women and the National Science Foundation. There was also a tour by the San Diego Supercomputing Center, a peer institution.

The Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport hosted a total of 23 tours in FY17. Eleven tours were by college and university groups, including the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University. Two tours were by political and sponsor groups, including the City & County of Broomfield and CO-LABS Inc. . There were also two tours provided to a K-12 group from the Center of Science Education. This year there were eight science/technical tours provided to groups ranging from Innovative Research and the Korean Radio Research RRA.

The High Altitude Observatory

The High Altitude Observatory hosted a total of 7tours in FY18. One tour was by a college or university from the University of Hawai’i. There was one tour for Ouray High School from the K-12 group. There were also four science and technical tours provided to NICS scientists and LASP Scientists.

Individual Staff Metrics

Contributions to Individual Graduate Student Education

NCAR staff members serve as research advisors and thesis committee members for graduate students around the world.

In 2017, NCAR staff served as graduate advisors or committee members for 226 graduate students. Twenty-two are working on their master’s degrees and 204 are working on their PhD. 73% hail from U.S. universities; 27% study at schools in 22 countries around the world, including a PhD student from the University of Lille who was advised by Geoff Tyndall, a PhD student from Oklahoma State University advised by Rebecca Morss, and a Master’s student from Western Washington University advised by Carl Schmitt.

Editorships

NCAR staff members serve as publication editors. These positions recognize the appointee's leadership in the field and serve a critical role in developing a given field's future focus.

88 NCAR staff served in editorial roles for 97 different publications or journals. Tammy Weckwerth served as the Subject Matter Editor for the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society while Dan Marsh served as a Guest Editor for the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. Publications included top-tier journals such as the AMS Journal of Hydrometeorology and the Geoscience Data Journal.

External Awards

Every year a significant number of NCAR Staff are honored for their scientific excellence and community contributions to the Atmospheric and related sciences. 

Peggy LeMone (MMM), Rich Rotunno, (MMM), Scott Ellis (EOL), Mary Barth, (ACOM) and Bob Sharman (RAL) were named American Meteorology Society Fellows. The AMS Fellow honor celebrates outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.

Martyn Clark (RAL) was named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This special honor recognizes scientific eminence in the Earth and space sciences. It acknowledges Fellows for their remarkable contributions to their research fields, exceptional knowledge, and visionary leadership. Only 0.1% of AGU membership receives this recognition in any given year.

K-12 Outreach

Staff across NCAR work directly with classes and groups of K-12 students to develop or deliver lectures, conduct tours, and lead or participate in field trips and other educational activities.

Forty-three NCAR Staff worked with K-12 students from 54 schools or other school based organizations. Activities included hosting a math olympiad at Blue Mountain Elementary School, helping teachers, mentoring, and field trips reaching 23 different communities. Examples range volunteering at Bear Creek Elementary School’s 3rd grade robotics program in Boulder, Colorado to being a science fair judge at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF).

Among the highlights: Bill Mahoney (RAL) supports the Snow Plow Painting Art Project involving more than 200 kids, on an annual basis (since 2003). This project brings awareness of the City of Louisville’s winter snow and ice control operations and the safety hazards associated with winter conditions by bringing together school students, city operations officials, and weather experts. Art classes at each of the participating schools design artwork consistent with the designated theme for the year and the artwork is then painted on the snow plows. Seven schools in Louisville participate in this project; Rebecca Bucholz (ACOM) was a Grand Awards Judge and Senior Division Chemistry and Biochemistry Assistant Captain for 500 students at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair in Ft. Collins, Colorado; and David Gagne participated in the National Arctic Climate Game Jam in Boulder, Colorado.

Mentoring

NCAR staff participate in mentoring colleagues and students.

During this year, 108 staff members mentored mentees both inside and outside of NCAR. Mary Barth (ACOM) was a science mentor at both the University of Polytechnic Marche and the University of Rhode Island. Andreas Prein (MMM) was a science mentor to two students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; John Dennis (CISL) was a computer and electrical engineering mentor to students from the University of Colorado and Colorado State University while Matthias Rempel (HAO) worked with students from the University of Glasgow and an ASP Post Doc at NCAR.

NCAR staff members make important contributions through teaching appointments at institutions of higher education in different positions ranging from Graduate Faculty to Professor.

Teaching appointments at institutions of higher education currently number 37. Seven percent of these appointments occur in 5 countries around the world; 93% took place in 12 U.S. states. The longest term is 32 years, by Grant Branstator (CGD) who is an Adjunct Professor at Iowa State University. The class sizes range from 5 to 90 students.

External Committee Service

NCAR staff are called upon to participate in and often lead external scientific, technical, policy, and educational committees. These committees are instrumental to advancing and promoting the work of the scientific and technical community.

This year, 183 NCAR staff served in a multitude of roles on 529 external committees (an average of 2.9 committees per participating staff member) for national and international scientific, education, and governmental organizations, including entities such as the Water Research Foundation, the Western Education and Research Collaboration and the Research Council of Norway. More than 63% served on more than one committee.

Staff Collaboration Visits to Universities

NCAR staff take leaves to visit other institutions for two weeks or more for intellectual growth, professional development, collaboration with research community peers, community support, teaching, or sabbatical. Examples of work include teaching courses or workshops, lecturing, giving tutorials, working with graduate students on dissertation-focused research, student mentoring, collaborative research, and participating in the host institution's outreach to community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and high schools.

This year, 10 NCAR staff members took leaves at 10 different institutions, ranging from the University of Hawai’i to the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center. Among the highlights: Stephen Yeager visited and collaborated with a senior fellow at the University of Reading to conduct collaborative research and Wojciech Grabowski (MMM), a Senior Scientist Section Head, visited the University of Warsaw for a 1-year collaborative leave to teach at the university.

APPOINTMENT METRICS

Special Appointments

NCAR Affiliate Scientists

Select university and research-community scientists are invited to carry out long-term, highly interactive, collaborative work with UCAR scientists and are appointed as Affiliate Scientists with three-year terms (see list). This appointment is particularly suitable for parties who desire an extended, close-working relationship on scientific problems of mutual interest. Currently, 44 scientists hold appointments including Dr. Kevin Repasky of Montana State University. Dr. Repasky is collaborating with scientists in the Earth Observing Laboratory(EOL) on developing a deployable version of a low-cost water vapor differential absorption lidar (WV DIAL).

Emeritus/Emerita

Scientific and Research Engineering staff who have made significant contributions to NCAR through long and distinguished service in senior positions in research may be granted emeritus or emerita status (see list). This designation confers a life-long honorary distinction. Approval of the President and the Board of Trustees is required. Currently the ranks of Emeritus/Emerita number 28 with the recent appointment of Mr. Richard “Rit” Carbone who is continuing his research on root causes of tropical oceanic rainfall errors in highly parameterized global models.

*deceased