Local, National and International research field experiences in the atmospheric sciences for underrepresented groups

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A program directed by faculty at Howard University aims to inspire undergraduate and graduate students with an emphasis on those from underrepresented groups through local, national and international research experiences through measurement workshops/short-courses and field campaigns (ground and aircraft) for three years. This is done locally through research opportunities at the Howard University Atmospheric Observatory (HUAO) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GFSC). Nationally, students will participate in field experiences with the University of Wyoming, the NASA Opportunity for Student Airborne Research that is sponsored by NSERC (U of North Dakota), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD). During the second year (2010), students will participate both nationally and internationally in a planned hurricane field campaign (GRIP) that is expected to operate from Florida and potentially other Caribbean countries. Moreover, students are expected to help with upstream measurements during this field campaign in Senegal and Guinea. Each student will be assigned a mentor with the research experience expected to motivate undergraduate students for pursuing graduate studies and also serving as a source of research ideas and data for graduate student thesis and dissertation research topics. Measurements in Senegal will continue to focus on rainfall variability with potential applications for societal needs.