This award sets aside funds at the Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS) at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to support travel for early-career scientists seeking to participate in meetings and field campaigns related to the NSF Climate and Large-scale Dynamics (CLD) program. Travel support will also be provided for senior scientists to engage in teaching and mentoring activities intended to further the careers of junior scientists. The travel support to be provided through this grant is motivated by the fact that educational, mentoring, and outreach opportunities often arise quickly, and the financial resources needed to enable these activities are often not readily available. With funding of this proposal, JOSS can react quickly to provide junior and senior scientists subsidies for travel and related costs to participate in a field project or scientific gathering in any part of the world. Requests for travel support would be evaluated on the basis of the quality of scientific opportunities at the workshop, meeting, or project; the academic merit of the junior scientist, including demonstrated independence, projected achievement and probability of success; and a credible plan for the solicitation and selection of applicants, including appropriate emphasis on diversity and geographical distribution. Requests typically come from the organizers of workshops or field campaigns, who contact CLD staff to discuss their needs and eligibility.
The broader impact of the proposed activity lies in the benefit to the climate dynamics and related scientific communities in providing opportunities for students and junior scientists to gain 1) exposure to cutting edge research; 2) a broader view of the connections between their work and the larger scientific issues of the day; 3) access to senior scientists with valuable insights on scientific and professional issues; and 4) a chance to network with their peers at different institutions. In addition to these benefits to the scientific community, the work has societal benefit due to the increasing demand for expertise in climate science from stakeholders and policy makers concerned about the human consequences of climate variability and change.
EDUCATION/OUTREACH IN CLIMATE DYNAMICS University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s (UCAR) Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS) collaborated with NSF’s Climate Dynamics managers to facilitate interactions and exchanges between junior scientists and senior scientists at meetings and field projects. The future of science indicates that the need for new scientists is increasing faster than the academic resources can provide them. A beneficial way to prepare junior scientists (students, post docs and other new scientists) is to engage them in a professional environment with more senior scientists involved and in multi-disciplinary projects. UCAR/JOSS provided support for advanced climate and environmental research, education, and outreach opportunities. Partnered with NSF’s Climate and Large-scale Dynamics program (CLD), CLD and JOSS selected the highest priorities for research, education, and outreach for students and senior scientists to participate under this opportunity. Students were exposed to new emerging technological advances that were cross-disciplinary in nature. The ability for the students and young scientists to engage in one-on-one interactions with leaders in their field, outside of their own organization, is also an important aspect of the educational opportunity. A benefit to the atmospheric senior scientists is their exposure to new thoughts and ideas of the students and young scientists. This project was to help stimulate the intellectual curiosity of the junior scientists and to create a valuable network that can support them in their current endeavors and future careers. The project added to the resources to encourage participation in this scientific community and benefit the educational community.
