Executive Summary
Howard University is pleased to report the establishment of a new NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M). The creation of the ASM Center is the direct result of a successful proposal submitted to the NOAA Office of Education, Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI). Howard University has been awarded $2.975M for year one and up to $15.5 million over five years by the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to educate and graduate students who pursue degree programs with applied research in NOAA mission-related scientific fields.
The NCAS-M is comprised of a thirteen-member consortium with Howard University as the lead institution. The partnership has nine partners as sub-awardees and four affiliate partners (related through a non-funded articulation agreements). NCAS-M nine partners include, Howard University (lead), Jackson State University, University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez, University of Texas – El Paso, San Jose State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, University of Maryland – College Park, State University of New York – Albany, and four affiliates: Fort Valley State University, San Diego State University, Tuskegee University, and Universidad Metropolitana. The new partnership began in the fall of 2016. The NCAS-M research and training activities support the primary goal “…to produce a diverse and highly skilled cadre of technical and environmentally literate professionals who will help build a more resilient nation in the face of increasing vulnerability to weather extremes and other environmental threats.”
The NCAS-M is in the early stages of implementation (at the time of this submission, the revised implementation plan had not been submitted and reviewed) and award set-up and accomplishments with respect to the five-listed metrics and for the program level outcomes and outputs. The NCAS-M is diligently working towards full staffing, interacting with Program officials to finalize operational plans (e.g. evaluation plan, implementation plan, communication strategy), setting up an advisory board, engaging with other CSC leadership and Program to further program sustainability and success through the Center Champions Committee, and building coalitions within NOAA. Many of our interactions are spelled out in upcoming sections and we expect that many of these efforts will lead to tangible results over the next six months.
NCAS-M held its first implementation meeting with its partners and affiliates from October 21-23, 2016. We hosted our first application workshop on January 11, 2017. In collaboration with NCAS (NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences), NCAS-M participated in two conferences: American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall 2016 Meeting –December 5-19, 2016 in San Francisco, CA and the 97th American Meteorology Society (AMS) Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA – January 21-27, 2017.
The faculty and staff of the NCAS-M Center are actively recruiting students to the new Center via informal talks on their respective campuses. The following semi-annual performance report details the activities conducted during September 1, 2016 – February 28, 2017.
