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Howard’s
Center for
Atmospheric
Sciences
Charts Expanded
Mission
with $15
M Commerce
Department
Award |
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WASHINGTON
–
Howard University’s
NOAA Center
for Atmospheric
Sciences
(NCAS) has
been awarded
$2.625M
for year
one and
up to $15
million
over five
years by
the Department
of Commerce
and the
National
Oceanic
and Atmospheric
Administration
to conduct
research
and educational
efforts
in weather,
climate,
air quality,
and environmental
literacy.
NCAS, a
consortium
of six educational
institutions
led by Howard
University,
has been
supported
by core
funding
from the
Department
of Commerce
since 2001.
The other
schools
are Jackson
State University,
the University
of Maryland
College
Park, the
University
of Texas
El Paso,
State University
of New York
Albany and
the University
of Puerto
Rico Mayaguez.
The Center
has focused
on research
to improve
weather,
climate
and air
quality
prediction
through
integrated
observations,
like the
field campaigns
to explore
the long-range
transport
of African
dust and
its effects
on hurricanes
or the effects
of biomass
smoke and
other pollutants
on the air
quality
and health.
At the Center’s
internationally
recognized
Beltsville
Center for
Climate
System Observation
in Beltsville,
Md., NCAS
seeks to
improve
the lead
time and
accuracy
of severe
weather
forecasts,
provide
air quality
prediction
and support
that helps
the National
Weather
Service
and others
make better
weather-
and emergency-related
decisions.
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NCAS
is led
by Vernon
Morris,
Ph.D.,
principal
investigator
and
director
for
the
past
decade.
The
center
won
the
award
after
a nationwide
competition.
“The
team
of investigators
that
assembled
for
this
effort
is one
of the
most
talented
and
vibrant
cadre
of scientists
with
whom
I have
ever
been
privileged
to work.”
Morris
said.
“We
have
added
key
faculty
from
the
School
of Communications,
the
Department
of Psychology
and
the
Department
of Sociology
who
bring
additional
social
science
research
capacity
to NCAS.
They
allow
us to
extend
our
research
to include
the
societal
dimension
of environmental
change,
its
measurement
and
its
prediction.” |
Aside
from
its
current
efforts,
NCAS
will
include
four
new
areas
of
research.
-
Risk
Communication
Analysis
–
NCAS
will
examine
ways
to
improve
weather
and
emergency
messages
and
the
way
they
are
communicated
so
communities
respond
better
to
emergency
conditions,
such
as
hurricanes,
tornados
and
flooding.
While
NCAS
will
work
to
improve
overall
messaging,
it
will
also
focus
on
how
to
better
communicate
to
African-American,
Hispanic
and
other
minority
communities.
-
Air
Quality
Health
Research
–
NCAS
will
examine
how
to
better
translate
and
correlate
daily
changes
in
the
air
that
can
affect
people’s
immediate
and
long-term
health.
-
Aerobiology
and
Climate
–
NCAS
will
examine
how
climate
changes,
such
as
an
extended
summer
or
a
short
fall,
affect
the
amount
and
density
of
biological
elements
in
the
air,
such
as
bacteria
or
the
flu
virus,
which
in
turn
can
affect
people.
-
Novel
Environmental
Sensing
Technologies
–
NCAS
will
develop
new
technologies
as
well
as
new
uses
of
existing
technology
to
measure
the
environment.
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A
vital
component
of NCAS
is to
use
cutting-edge
NOAA
mission
research
to educate
and
train
the
nation’s
next
generation
in science,
technology,
engineering
and
mathematics
(STEM).
The
NCAS
partnership
with
NOAA
and
collaborations
with
public
and
private
sector
institutions
are
a resource
for
the
scientific
community
and
a model
for
future
STEM
workforce
production
and
training
programs.
NCAS
invites
you
to follow
it on
Twitter,
friend
it on
Facebook,
and
visit
the
website
at http://ncas.howard.edu |
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