Hands-on Interdisciplinary Laboratory Program: An Approach to Strengthen the Weather Radar Curriculum

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Engineering - Electrical (55)This project is generating a unique, interdisciplinary program for training future engineers and meteorologists in the full set of competencies needed to take raw radar data and transform it into meaningful interpretations of weather phenomena. The heart of the project is the development of a set of four undergraduate courses, offered by the Meteorology and the Electrical & Computer Engineering Programs. These courses are based on material adapted from a nationlly known radar program at Colorado State University. They are providing hands-on laboratory experiences in the special knowledge and skills necessary for organizing real-time weather data, improving and preparing that data for display, and interpreting its meteorological and scientific significance. Through this program, on-campus students have access to weather data from the recently constructed National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT). Moreover the PIs are establishing a website through which students across the nation will have access to this state-of-the-art radar data. In order to motivate and retain undergraduates, the PIs plan to use a small, diverse team of undergraduate peer teachers to assist with the laboratory experiments. An expert in learning and course development on the PI's campus is devising an assessment plan. The investigators plan to partner with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OCS) to adapt and distribute project materials directly to K-12 students and teachers via the OCS Earth-Storm outreach program.