EOL Summer 2025 Updates
EOL SUPER Interns Showcase Summer Research
Each summer, the Earth Observing Laboratory’s Summer Undergraduate Program for Engineering Research (SUPER) brings talented students to NSF NCAR to work alongside staff mentors on applied research and development projects. This year, EOL hosted two outstanding interns who made meaningful contributions to our data visualization and monitoring capabilities.
Ameen Hussain, a Computer Science and Mathematics major at Colorado State University, worked with ISF software engineer Gary Granger on the “DSM Dashboard: A Web-based Interface for Real-time NIDAS Data Quality Monitoring and Visualization.” Ameen modernized the user interface and improved backend functionality, allowing field engineers and researchers to more efficiently assess instrument health and data quality from the Integrated Surface Flux System (ISFS) during deployments.
Kevin McMahon, a Computer Science major at the University of Colorado Boulder, was mentored by ISF software engineer Rick Brownrigg. Kevin developed the “AVAPS Dashboard for Dropsonde Mission Overview,” a web-based interface that provides synoptic visualizations of the data collected during an AVAPS mission. The Dashboard presents the entire collection of soundings at once as a series of thumbnail plots, from which a viewer can "drill down" to reveal more detailed plots and metadata.
Both students presented their work in July 2025, at the UCAR-organized Summer Student Conference. Their efforts reflect the value of the SUPER program in developing practical engineering skills while supporting EOL’s mission to advance atmospheric science through high-quality observational tools. We’re proud of Kevin and Ameen’s contributions and thank their mentors for their guidance throughout the summer.
SUPER Intern Program
ESIP Summer 2025
EOL Engages with the Earth Science Data Community at ESIP Summer 2025
EOL data management experts attended the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Summer 2025 Meeting, held in late July in Seattle, Washington. Centered on the theme Innovation to Impact, the event convened a broad range of Earth science data professionals from academia, non-profits, and research institutions.
Key discussion topics included ongoing challenges with data interoperability, preparing repositories for AI-driven search and discovery, and strategies for ensuring archive resilience amid funding and infrastructure uncertainty. Participants also explored the respective benefits of domain-specific versus generalist repositories in managing the full data lifecycle.
For EOL, the meeting was a valuable opportunity to share ideas, learn about emerging technologies, and engage in broader conversations around data stewardship and organizational resilience. With increased participation from educational and non-profit organizations this year, the event fostered rich cross-sector dialogue on how to protect and make the most of Earth science data.
EOL’s continued engagement with ESIP, a nonprofit organization NSF NCAR has partnered with since 2012, helps ensure our data practices stay aligned with community needs and remain at the forefront of innovation in Earth data science.
ESIP’s mission is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, share technical expertise, and empower the innovative use and stewardship of Earth science data to help solve some of the planet’s greatest challenges. Learn more at esipfed.org.
