DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

During the last year, I returned to the Division Director position after a sabbatical that stretched over most of the previous year in which I served as Lead Scientist for the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP).  Now I am splitting my time fairly equally between MMM Division Director and USWRP Lead Scientist.  Rich Rotunno has assumed the position of Assistant Director for MMM and now assists with the daily administration of the Division, which allows me to fulfill my commitment to spend 50% of my time on USWRP.  Rich also continues to pursue his ongoing science research program.  Rich (on the left) and I are pictured above.

Division Overview

The Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology (MMM) Division is one of nine programs or divisions within the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).  The mission of MMM is one of basic research to advance the fundamental understanding of mesoscale and microscale processes and to improve the modeling, observation, and prediction of these processes.  The Division's research ranges from basic to applied.  However, for the direct transfer of knowledge to benefit society, we rely on collaborative efforts with the other NCAR divisions and programs and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) programs whose missions are more directly aligned to technology transfer.  Much of our research also involves collaborations with scientists outside the division, especially scientists at universities.

The division is organized into five science groups, a computing system management group, and administrative services including support to an extensive Visitor Program.  It consists of 71 staff with 38 scientists, including 15 senior scientists and 1 senior scientist emeritus, and 12 project scientists.  Twelve scientists/project scientists hold joint appointments with other NCAR or UCAR divisions/programs.  Collocated with the division is a group, lead by David Jorgensen, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).  The group specializes in airborne dual-Doppler observations of mesoscale systems and augments the MMM program in mesoscale observations.  The division is also honored to have three Senior Research Associates:  William Bonner, Joachim Kuettner, and John Latham.  In addition, the division has four affiliate scientists:  Larry Mahrt, Richard Reed, Bjorn Stevens, and Xiaolei Zou.

An external advisory committee assists the division in determining its scientific direction.  The committee currently includes Bruce Albrecht, University of Miami; Alan Blyth, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; Eugenia Kalnay, NOAA/NWS/NCEP; Joseph Tribbia, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, NCAR; Roger Wakimoto, University of California, Los Angeles; and James Wilson, Atmospheric Technology Division/Research Applications Program, NCAR. 

Division Scientific Themes

Over the past fiscal year the division solidified its emphasis in the two major program areas described in last year's Annual Scientific Report.  One program, the Prediction of Precipitation Weather Systems (PPWS) Program coordinated by Joseph Klemp, is designed to advance the understanding and prediction of significant precipitation events in order to reduce forecast errors toward the limits of predictability.  The other program, the Cloud and Surface Processes and Parameterization (CaSPP) Program coordinated by Peggy LeMone last year, is designed to quantify the large scale effects of mesoscale and microscale processes and to develop physically based methods to account for these effects in large-scale models.  The latter program addresses the parameterization problem in both climate simulation and prediction and in weather forecasting models.

The purpose of the two primary programs is to facilitate communications between researchers within the division, in other NCAR divisions, and with scientists outside NCAR working on common programs.  Through this communication process the programs identify areas where collaboration and coordination of efforts help to achieve the goals of the program and will facilitate the process for seeking funding for the program either from NSF or from other external sources. The division's Scientific Strategic Plan defines these programs and their goals in detail.

In addition, the division supports activities defined by individual scientists that may not be directly related to the major programs.  Here, the goal is to provide research opportunities that could become the impetus for moving the science forward in new, unexpected directions leading to possible future emphases or changes in the focus of the division's major scientific goals.