Editors' Note: Educational Outreach Activities

As this issue came together we noticed that the majority of the stories are about educational outreach and some of the many ways our employees impact students in their communities. In addition to working together with their communities to save lives, our employees are working together with their communities to grow young minds and build our future workforce. Thank you for all you do.

NWS Center Donates Boston Whaler Boat to Minority Serving Institution Partner

A 25-foot Boston Whaler boat donated last fall by the NWS National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) to Jackson State University (JSU) is supporting the school's academic field work in the waters surrounding Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. JSU is participating in NOAA's "Educational Partnership Program with Minority-Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI)," and in two of the program's four NOAA Cooperative Science Centers.

After some of the NDBC staff returned from a career opportunities day at JSU last year, they told NDBC Director Paul Moersdorf how impressed they were with the JSU Environmental Science and Engineering students they met. When Moersdorf learned that the school needed a boat to support academic research, he had the idea of donating the Boston Whaler to JSU. Moersdorf invited JSU's Director of the Marine Science Program, Paulinus Chigbu, to visit NDBC, and during the visit Chigbu was shown the unused boat. According to Moersdorf the JSU instructor was overjoyed when he inspected the boat, and said it was what JSU badly needed.

"As a result of the boat donated to JSU, we are able to take students enrolled in marine science courses on field trips to Mississippi Sound and other coastal bodies of water," said Chigbu. "In addition, faculty and students in the Marine and Environmental Sciences Program at JSU are able to carry out field research. We are indeed grateful to Dr. Moersdorf and the NDBC for the generous donation."

NDBC coordinated the proper transfer of the boat with NOAA's Central Administrative Support Center Property Office, prepared the necessary paperwork, and completed the donation to the school. NDBC once used the boat in the Gulf of Mexico for equipment testing purposes. After the test program was completed the boat remained in NDBC's possession, but was not being used. NDBC acquired the boat from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1993.

Two new items from the February 25-28, 2002, Corporate Board meeting are now online:

• NWS [Government Performance Results Act] GPRA Summary: This updated chart shows national performance measure goals through 2007.
  
  
• NWS Corporate Board Decisions: Highlights of this document include a list of the 10 high-priority R&D needs and the funding allocation for FY02 Environmental Health and Safety requirements.

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Sen. George Allen of Virginia visited the Wakefield, VA, forecast office on March 29, 2002. After meeting the staff and touring the office, the Senator was given an overview of NWS and Wakefield operations. Bill Sammler, Wakefield Warning Coordination Meteorologist, gave the Senator a demonstration on how the office uses radar data to help accomplish its mission, using the Weather Event Simulator. Dan Reilly, Senior Forecaster, demonstrated AWIPS. "The Senator was very animated and seemed interested in weather," said Tony Siebers, Wakefield Meteorologist-in-Charge. Siebers said that Sen. Allen also talked about the climate classes took at the University of Virginia.

Sen. Allan is a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee where he serves as ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space.

Click here for pictures taken during the Senator's visit. Visit the Wakefield WFO home page by clicking here.

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Meteorologist Andy Kula at the Des Moines, IA, Weather Forecast Office submitted the following article to NOAA's NWS Focus:

NWS and media partnerships are essential to distribute NWS weather watches, warnings, and preparedness information. KCCI TV in Des Moines has demonstrated their willingness to partner with the NWS in many recent efforts. These efforts are both in severe weather preparedness and improving warning services:

• KCCI TV has been instrumental in promoting NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) expansion efforts underway in Iowa. With eight transmitters (up from two) in the Des Moines NWS service area, KCCI TV has given considerable air time at NWR transmitter dedications, interviewing NWS personnel, and through a Des Moines Register weather segment. KCCI TV has also recently donated tower space to improve the Des Moines transmitter reception, allowing three additional counties to receive warnings in the listening area.

• Through many hours of uncompensated work, KCCI TV has developed an extensive network of School Net weather stations throughout central and south central Iowa, http://www.theiowachannel.com, funded by the Central Iowa Power Cooperative in hopes of adding weather education opportunities for local schools. KCCI TV has furnished data from these stations in real time to WFO Des Moines during severe weather situations on the Central Iowa National Weather Association funded local media radio network. By reporting high or severe wind gusts as they happen, NWS has improved verification, but more importantly, added vital real time information in the severe weather warning process. KCCI TV has also recently joined a partnership (including WFO Des Moines) with the Iowa Environmental Mesonet http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/schoolnet, allowing wider distribution of the data for mesoscale forecasting and research applications at Iowa State University.

• During Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa, March 25-29, 2002, KCCI TV provided NWS Des Moines a wonderful opportunity to promote Severe Weather Awareness Week and the upcoming Lightning Awareness Week. During KCCI's severe weather special "Weathering the Storm" (aired Monday March 25), KCCI Chief Meteorologist John McLaughlin gave us the opportunity to write and narrate a 1.5 minute script on lightning awareness in Iowa to be broadcast during the special. KCCI meteorologist Kurtis Goertz broadcast live from the NWS office in Johnston during the severe weather special, and interviewed me and Rob DeRoy (Data Acquisition Program Manager) about warning operations and NOAA Weather Radio.

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Spotlight on Louisville, KY, Forecast Office

Last month, WFO Louisville hosted a luncheon to celebrate Women's History Month. Nine students from Southern High School attended. Tara Bassett from FOX 41 news was the guest speaker. The luncheon theme was "Working Toward Success" and the discussions emphasized the importance of education and health in meeting career goals. Students were encouraged to set challenging and achievable goals, stay in school, and find a mentor. The group also discussed self-esteem and other obstacles women may experience. Several members of the Louisville staff participated and all the young women toured the WFO.

On March 22, Marilyn Scholz, general forecaster from WFO Louisville, represented the NWS at the Louisville Science Center for Aviation Day. More than 600 students from surrounding schools attended learning experience exhibits. Scholz staffed an exhibit that helped the students understand how meteorology impacts the aviation community. Other exhibitors were UPS pilots, private pilots, and aerial photographers.

For photos of these two events, click here.

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National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) Hosts Area Special Olympic Games

On March 16, 2002, NDBC Director Paul F. Moersdorf presided over the opening ceremonies for this year's Area III Special Olympics Games at Stennis Space Center, MS. NDBC employees coordinated the event and the efforts of over 450 volunteers from Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River, and Stone counties. Over 250 Special Olympics athletes competed. NDBC volunteers sponsored athletes, worked at events, and served as athlete "buddies" for the day. The event was flawless, much to the satisfaction of both the volunteers and the athletes, according to Moersdorf. "Luckily, an impending rainstorm waited until after the games were finished," said Moersdorf.

The top performing athletes in the Stennis games will go on to the state games at Keesler Air Force Base, MS, in April 2002.

For photos of this event, click here.

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NWS Student Volunteer Wins Science Fair Awards

Douglas Berz, a junior at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD, and a volunteer intern at the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) won second prize in the Montgomery County High School Science Fair, March 16-17, 2002. Berz is part of a Science Internship sponsored by Walt Whitman High School and spends two hours a day at the HPC studying alternative methods for verifying Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts that measure the error in the horizontal displacement of areas of rainfall forecasts. The study formed the basis for Berz's winning science fair entry. In addition to receiving the second prize, Berz's work received several other honors: Third Place Science and Engineering Award from Johns Hopkins University (with $50 cash); Second Place Computer Applications Award from TRW, Inc. ($200 savings bond); First Place Science Research Award from US Air Force (medal); Second Place Weather Information Award from Nuclear Regulatory Commission ($100 cash). Berz, who plans to major in meteorology in college, has worked as a summer intern in the HPC for the past two summers.

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Also On the Web...

NOAA awarded a contract to Kaysam Worldwide, Inc. of Totowa, NJ, to manufacture weather balloons used to gather data for daily weather forecasts. The fixed-price award with options has a value of $5,145,160. Kaysam Worldwide, Inc. has been manufacturing helium- or hydrogen-filled meteorological balloons made to withstand air pressure and temperature changes at high altitudes since World War II, and is the only manufacturer of meteorological balloons in the United States.

Read the complete news release here

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