Education, Research and International Training for US Students and Junior Scientists in Atmospheric Research

Project Description

Over the past 10 years, the atmospheric science community in East Asia has been very active, and has established some exciting and innovative facilities and projects. For example, Taiwan's National Space Program Office is planning to launch a constellation of six micro satellites for atmospheric remote sensing through a project known as ROCSAT-3/COSMIC - Republic of China Satellite Program #3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate. ROCSAT-3/COSMIC will provide approximately 3,000 radio occultation soundings per day, and has great potential to make significant contributions to weather prediction, climate monitoring, and space weather research. Japan is building a major computing facility for climate research known as the Earth Simulator. The Earth Simulator, with computing power of 40 TFLOPS, is, perhaps, the most powerful computer simulation laboratory for climate research on earth. Several East-Asian countries are actively developing next-generation numerical models for weather and climate prediction. Scientists in East Asia are also actively planning for field programs to study typhoon and Mei-yu convective systems. These cutting edge research facilities and projects over East Asia provide a unique opportunity for fruitful research collaboration with US scientists, and for the education and international training of US students and junior scientists in atmospheric sciences.

Under the sponsorship of the NSF International Programs Office, UCAR has recently established a project entitled: Education, Research and International Training (ERIT) for US students and junior scientists in atmospheric sciences. The purpose of this project is to facilitate research collaboration between the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), and the US university community on the one hand, and educational, research and operational institutions in East Asia, on the other. The collaboration with the atmospheric sciences communities in East Asia is timely and highly beneficial to the US scientific community. Through ERIT, US students and junior scientists will be exposed to exciting new research facilities, projects and opportunities. The activities to be supported by ERIT include: research experiences for students and junior scientists, graduate research internships, post-doctoral fellowships, joint workshops and seminars, and collaborative research. With this announcement, UCAR would like to solicit proposals from US universities for international collaborations which address the objectives of the ERIT project.

Scientific Priorities

Collaborative research projects on selected broad areas of atmospheric science will be considered. However, priority will be given to the following six scientific areas:

1. COSMIC/ROCSAT-3 Project
2. Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model development
3. Community Climate Simulation Model (CCSM) development
4. Ground based GPS remote sensing
5. Mesoscale data assimilation
6. Mesoscale meteorological research (including typhoons and Mei-yu systems) over East Asia

Since the primary objective of ERIT is to provide international training and education for US students and junior scientists, we would like to encourage collaborative research projects that involve significant participation of graduate students and junior scientists.
As a general guideline, we would like proposals submitted to ERIT to include collaboration among:

• A university P.I.
• A university graduate student or postdoctoral fellow
• An NCAR/UCAR scientist
• A P.I. in the foreign host institution

Proposals with significant participation of students and/or postdoctoral fellows would be given high priority, especially if these students and/or postdoctoral fellows would spend a significant fraction of their time performing their research in the host institutions in East Asia. By directly participating in international collaborative research projects and by performing a substantial portion of research at East Asian research institutes, US students and junior scientists will be exposed to unique educational and research experiences.

Guidelines on Proposal Preparation

Collaborative research proposals should be submitted to:
Dr. Bill Kuo
UCAR COSMIC Project Office
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, CO 80307
Phone: (303) 497-8658
Fax: (303) 497-2610
Email: kuo@ucar.edu

Proposals should include the following items:

1. Title of Proposal
2. Project Summary (no more than one page)
3. Project Description
   • Motivation
   • Scientific objective
   • Statement of work
   • Expected results
   • Foreign collaborators and expected interaction
   • Activities and schedule
4. Education, training and international research experiences for US students and junior scientists
5. Budget justification (including travel and student salary, if necessary)

The total number of pages for proposals should not exceed ten pages (excluding references, resumes and budgets). The period of performance should not exceed two years. Please note that due to budget limitations we will not be able to provide funding support for the P.I.'s salary. However, we will provide travel support for the P.I. and his/her students (or junior research associates) to foreign institutions, and limited funding is available to partially support the fellowship for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. We expect most of the expenses to be paid directly by UCAR. However, in certain situations, we would also consider establishing a sub-contract with the P.I.'s institution.

Deadline for Proposals

The ERIT project will be able to support about five to six international collaborative research proposals (some with partial support for students or postdoctoral fellowships). Proposals will be received and evaluated on a continuous basis until all funds are committed.

Selection Process

A selection committee will evaluate the collaborative research proposals. Awards will be made based on the quality of the science and on its ability to meet the international education and training objectives of the ERIT project.