Supporting and Enhancing Formal Science Education at all levels
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A group of undergraduate students from several universities in Australia and the United States, take a break with EOL staff in front of Wave rock, Hyden, Western Australia. The PI, Udaysankar Nair, University of Alabama, Huntsville is on far right.
GAUS deployed to Western Australia during the Bunny Fence Experiment (BuFEX) experiment in December of 2005 that focused on the effect of landscape with cloud formation and atmospheric circulation. The students gained valuable research experience assisting EOL technicians in operating the two GAUS systems that collected high quality upper air soundings. |
EOL attaches a high value to Education and Outreach and currently
infuses all EOL programs, whether in the laboratory or field with an E&O component. EOL encourages a general interest in earth science, and
particularly tries to foster advanced understanding in the science and process
of atmospheric research measurements. EOL accepts its responsibility to
encourage the growth of the next generation of observational engineers and
scientists, and continually seeks new ways to do this. Our most prominent areas for Education and Outreach are our Field Projects, where undergraduate students assist EOL technicians and engineers on-site to operate our observational platforms. Many science teachers from local schools take advantage of their proximity to our Field Projects as well, bringing their class to the site to tour and learn about various aspects of running a real-life scientific experiment. Our staff are involved with sharing their expertise with students of university-level atmospheric science by writing textbooks and participating in their dissertation boards or acting as mentors to graduate students.
Student Field Project Support [Highlight]
Graduate and undergraduate earth science
students are a regular feature of all EOL field
projects.
EOL routinely involves these students to help with the operation and
maintenance of EOL equipment during domestic and international field campaigns. While
EOL prefers to work with students who have a personal interest in observational
meteorology, EOL also routinely hires student to help with operations during large field
campaigns. Most positions are in support of the Integrated Sounding System (ISS) and the
GPS Advanced Upper Air Sounding System (GAUS) with occasional opportunities related to
radar and dropsonde operations. Responsibilities often include launching of sondes at
predetermined schedules, maintenance of proper operations of all equipment, data
collection and processing activities, document preparation as well as help with set-up
and tear-down. In FY06, students were essential in the support of the first Bunny Fence
Experiment (see sidebar), TREX, KESS, and CuPIDO.
Chapter in undergraduate and graduate textbook, Analytical Techniques for Atmospheric Measurement
EOL contributed to the NCAR priority to educate the next generation of scientists by lending their expertise to write the a chapter entitled Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy in the Analytical Techniques for Atmospheric Measurement textbook, which was published by Blackwell International Textbook, Oxford and edited by Dwayne Heard. This textbook will be used in both graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on atmospheric chemistry and fulfills a void by focusing on the fundamentals and latest developments on instruments employed in atmospheric studies.
Student Visits to EOL
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Student tours such as this one, an undergraduate meteorology class from CU-Boulder to the S-Pol radar site at Marshall Field, can help inspire young students and give them real-world context for the material they learn in class. |
In FY06, EOL played host to dozens of students from K-12 as well as the undergraduate and graduate level as they explored our Laboratory and learned about the observing facilities and services EOL offers to the atmospheric science community. Our latest visit was from a group of 14 undergraduate CU students from Dr. Richard Keen's Meteorology class to our Marshall Field site. During their tour, the class learned how EOL deploys our S-Pol radar and gathers data researchers use in precipitation studies. Visits like these are an excellent tool for science teachers to show students real-world observing systems and give important context to the material they learn in the classroom. EOL feels strongly that it is experiences like these that can help galvanize young students' interest in the atmospheric science and may possibly inspire them to focus on it as a career choice.
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