Cooperative Agreement: Operation of the Chill Radar Facility for Research and Education

研究雷达已被证明是一个非常有用的工具，用于广泛的气象主题。这类研究包括对个别云的降水产生特征的研究，对严重雷暴的调查，对研究大尺度天气模式的垂直风结构取样，以及对全球水收支的分析。气象雷达的主要实际应用包括为水文目的精确遥感降雨的能力和远程探测恶劣天气，如龙卷风、山洪、飓风和微暴。事实上，这些实际应用的好处是通过安装下一代气象雷达（NEXRAD）和垂直风探测系统（廓线仪）对国家天气观测系统进行根本性改变的主要原因。有必要继续在气象雷达方面进行最先进的研究，并培训下一代研究和业务雷达气象学家。美国气象学会最近发表的一份报告强调了加速研究和教育活动的必要性，该报告是基于一次评估雷达气象研究和教育状况的会议。因此，美国国家科学基金会发布了一份管理教育/研究环境中的主要雷达设施的项目征求书。获胜方案的首席研究员提出了一个令人印象深刻的雷达设施管理计划，以支持雷达气象学的内部和外部（对机构）教育和研究活动。这些活动包括工程师、计算机科学家和气象学家之间的互动，努力继续推动科学的前沿，培养新一代雷达气象学家和雷达工程师。//

Research radars have proven to be an extremely useful tools for a broad range of meteorological topics. Such research has encompassed studies of the precipitation producing characteristics of individual clouds, to investigations of severe thunderstorms, to sampling of vertical wind structure for study of large scale weather patterns, to the analysis of global water budgets. Major practical applications of meteorological radar include the capability of accurate remote sensing of rainfall for hydrological purposes and remote detection of severe weather such as tornadoes, flash floods, hurricanes and microbursts. Indeed, the benefits of these practical applications are the primary reason for fundamental changes in the Nation's weather observing system via installation of the next generation of meteorological radars (NEXRAD) and vertical wind sounding systems (profilers). There is a need to continue state-of-the-art research in meteorological radar and to train the next generation of both research and operational radar meteorologists. This need for accelerated research and educational activities has been emphasized recently in a report issued by the American Meteorological Society based on a meeting focussed on assessing the state of radar meteorological research and education. Accordingly, the National Science Foundation issued a project solicitation for management of a major radar facility in an educational/research setting. The Principal Investigator of the winning proposal has put forth an impressive plan for management of the radar facility in support of both in-house and external (to the institution) educational and research activities in radar meteorology. These activities include interactions between engineers, computer scientists and meteorologists in an effort to continue to push back the frontiers of the science and to train a new generation of radar meteorologists and radar engineers. //