This award is the first under the new 5.Year Cooperative Agreement with Cornell for the continued management, operation, and maintenance of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC). The research programs at NAIC include radio astronomy, radar astronomy, and atmospheric physics. Recent results in the areas of pulsar searches and timing, large scale structure of the universe from redshift surveys, and radar observations of the planets have kept the Observatory at the forefront of astronomical research. The atmospheric science program is at the forefront of studies of upper atmosphere energetics and dynamics. The principal research facilities of the NAIC are located near Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and consist of the 305.meter radio telescope and its associated radars and receivers and an HF heating facility. Additional laboratory, office, and research support facilities are located on the Cornell campus in Ithaca New York. The facilities of NAIC are available to all qualified scientists on a competitive basis. More than 150 scientists use the observing and data analysis facilities of the NAIC each year.
