September, 2009

Unidata is celebrating its 25th Anniversary!

We've marked the year with a series of small events, but October will see a day and a half program with a series of speakers some of whom will share their memories of the early days, others who will talk about today's activities, and still others who will look down the road a bit to speculate on the future. October 15-16 are the dates, and the location is UCAR's Center Green Campus, Building 1.

In March we announced the creation of a 25 anniversary logo: Unidata unveils its 25-year anniversary logo, and the August CommunitE-letter included additional information about the October program.

Please share your thoughts and memories of Unidata on our comment page.

For additional information, we invite you to browse the information page that's been created. We are especially proud of the list of distinguished speakers who will honor us not only with their presence, but with their memories and future projections as well.

August 19, 2009

NAWIPS to AWIPS-II Migration Update

Unidata continues to monitor the NAWIPS migration to AWIPS-II schedules and information from NWS and NCEP related to this important project. We
have requested NWS to provide periodic updates in order to keep the Unidata community apprised of these ongoing efforts.

During the October joint Unidata Policy Committee/Users Committee, a white paper that is currently under development by Unidata will be presented and discussed. This paper will be posted in the UnidataNews section on Unidata's home page and added to the NAWIPS migration page. Other resources such as email, GEMPAK/NAWIPS FAQs, etc., will also be used to keep the community informed of updates.

For the latest information from J.C. Duh, Chief, Programs and Plans Division, Office of Science and Technology, NOAA/NWS pertaining to AWIPS II software release, please see this link: AWIPS II Software Release

August 7, 2009

Update: AWIPS II Software Release

I understand there is high interest in the users community in receiving the AWIPS II software that is currently under development. The participation and inclusion of the Academic and Unidata communities will be critical to the continued growth of AWIPS II and NAWIPS capabilities. However, it is premature to release the AWIPS II software to the broader community at this time based on the following rationale:

* Stability of the micro-releases. Raytheon is delivering updates in
micro-releases. This is critical to the rapid identification and
resolution of problems as we near our release and testing dates.
However, the stability of the most recent set of micro-releases is
still not ideal. Even given the willingness of the university
community to tolerate these errors, NWS is not comfortable
releasing the software in this state to the broader community.
* Support workload: Given the issues noted above, much of the burden
of support would fall on Unidata. A potentially significant
workload is envisioned until the stability of the micro-releases
improves.
* Packaging an “open source” release. As Jason Tuell briefed at the
recent Unidata Policy Committee meeting, - an analysis of the
AWIPS II software is necessary to identify any software component
that is unique to NWS operations, and where broader distribution
might pose security risks.

The currently planned completion date of the AWIPS II development is March 15, 2010, and after the development is completed, NWS will start the system Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) of the AWIPS II software. I believe the development completion date, currently planned to be March 15, 2010, is a more appropriate date for releasing the AWIPS II software to the broader community, and I believe the additional 7 months will be worth the wait.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

V/R
JC

June 4, 2009

There is near universal agreement that the recently-completed Unidata Users Workshop, Using Operational and Experimental Observations in Education, was a great success. Presentations and hands-on labs by a distinguished roster of scientists, some fun events, and two outstanding demos: a balloon launch on Wednesday and a "weather in a tank" later in the week, all of this contributed to the workshop's success.

It would be impossible to express our gratitude to each of the presenters individually in this small space, but we can safely say that each presentation and lab was thoughtfully prepared and presented, and that each event was enthusiastically received.

In comments made several days after the workshop's close, the Unidata Users Committee chair, Gary Lackmann, wrote:

At the workshop, it struck me how Unidata really provides a unique nexus for hands-on, education-oriented but technically advanced workshops of this type. There are few other opportunities for this kind of blend of science, visualization, and teaching.

That pretty much says it all.

Look for a more detailed report in the July CommunitE-letter. To view all of the workshop pictures see RAMADDA link.

June 4, 2009
Transition to AWIPS-II
Unidata continues to work collaboratively with NOAA/NWS and NOAA/NCEP in coordinating the transition from GEMPAK/NAWIPS to AWIPS II, ensuring NAWIPS functionality. Read about the most recent steps in the letter below:

In an effort to keep the Unidata community informed about developments surrounding GEMPAK/NAWIPS transition to AWIPS II, we are pleased to inform you that the National Weather Service (NWS) has notified us that Unidata is free to distribute AWIPS II software, including migrated NAWIPS functionality, to its community. As you know from our previous messages, Unidata has been in ongoing discussions with NWS to make AWIPS II software available under an open source licensing arrangement. As Don Berchoff, Director, Office of Science and Technology states in his letter "One of our primary objectives as we move forward is to strengthen our partnership with the university community to enable faster and more effective infusion of new science from research to operations in AWIPS. We look forward to our continued partnership with Unidata to meet this objective." The AWIPS II software, including source code and binaries, will be made available to the public. Current AWIPS and NAWIPS development schedules show that the AWIPS II software will be available at the start of FY 2011. We believe this is an important step forward for the Unidata community.

Read the entire document at http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/newsletter/2009jun/AWIPSII.html.

Prof. Cutrim taught in the Department of Geography at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She was a long time member of the Unidata community as well as an active participant in our Users Committee since 2003.

In losing Elen we have lost not only a dear friend but an inspiration. She will be remembered for her collegiality, cheerful demeanor, and always-positive outlook. Elen made significant contributions to furthering Unidata's goals by helping to broaden the user base to other disciplines and countries by being a strong promoter of Unidata technologies and a truly outstanding ambassador for Unidata in national and international venues. For her efforts that reflect the goals and ideals of the Unidata program, Elen received the 2009 Russell L. DeSouza Award.

Although she will be dearly missed, her positive influence on all of us and the Unidata program will persist for years to come. We will continue to carryout our work with the same enthusiasm, energy, and openness that Elen exhibited throughout her life.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences, Western Michigan University, 3219 Wood Hall, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008. Make checks payable to Western Michigan University with Elen Cutrim Memorial Fund on the the memo line.

In 1983, a group of atmospheric scientists met in Madison, Wisconsin to develop a plan that became the basis for the Unidata program. That plan became a proposal that was funded by the National Science Foundation in 1984. In the fall of that year, UCAR established the Unidata Project Office and appointed David Fulker as its first director.

While Unidata's roots originated in a modest project that was designed, among other things, to provide real-time weather data to synoptic meteorologists in U.S. universities, its mission and vision have evolved, and our community has grown since then.

We are proud of the work we do here at Unidata, and we acknowledge with gratitude our partners throughout the community.

Version 2.2 is on "maintenence only" mode. We encourage you to switch to 4.0 to take advantage of many significant improvements and bug fixes.

Elen has been a member of the Unidata Users Committee since 2003, and has been actively engaged in the Unidata triennial workshops.  Elen has been an inspiration and a source of strength for her colleagues on the Users Committee, as well as the Unidata staff, always projecting her enthusiasm, radiant smile, unrivaled optimism, and incredible kindness.

Elen has made significant contributions to broadening the Unidata community.  She has expanded the user base to geography with Unidata technologies such as the Integrated Data Viewer.  She has been a strong promoter and ambassador for Unidata in national and international venues conveying the importance of community leadership and participation.  Her efforts have broadened the Unidata community in the U.S. and beyond, and these efforts include serving as a co-organizer of many sessions at the AGU and EGU on issues important to Unidata. 

She has been tirelessly devoted to her students and her classes, with great concern and dedication, setting the scale high for being a community role model for all of us to follow. She graciously takes on responsibility with no expectation of gratitude in return, but merely because she thinks it’s the right thing to do.

According to Perry Samson, “Her energy is infectious, and her attitude is ALWAYS positive and inspirational. In many ways she exactly reminds me of Russ DeSouza, with whom I had the honor of sharing Users Committee membership long ago.”

Mohan Ramamurthy, UPC Director (mohan@ucar.edu)
Steven Businger, Chair, Unidata Policy Committee (businger@hawaii.edu)
Gary Lackmann, Chair, Unidata Users Committee (gary@ncsu.edu)

The core-funding proposal offered a bold vision and a realistic plan to extend a successful national facility that enables transformative advances in geoscience education, research, and outreach. The plan for achieving the vision was provided through six overarching themes that were shaped by pertinent scientific and education drivers, consistent with community trends and needs, and aligned with the NSF priorities:

1. Broadening participation and expanding community services
2. Advancing data services
3. Developing and deploying useful tools
4. Enhancing user support services
5. Providing leadership in cyberinfrastructure
6. Promoting diversity by expanding opportunities

The proposal builds on the successes of the present program, its capabilities and core competencies, and its unique niche in providing robust, reliable, and comprehensive data services and tools to geoscience users. While Unidata embarks on this plan to meet the evolving needs of a broad community, the program remains firmly committed to meeting its responsibilities to the core community of researchers, educators, and students in the atmospheric sciences. The quality of services that the core community has come to expect will be both sustained as well as enhanced by the new activities, partnerships, and the resulting synergies.

Following a successful review of the proposal, the UPC is now engaged in discussions with the NSF on the terms of the five-year award. As always, we will keep the community informed on the progress of our plans and activities as the program begins a new chapter in its successful history.

January 7, 2009

2009 Unidata Equipment Awards
Under sponsorship from the National Science Foundation, the Unidata Program Center (UPC) announces the 2009 Unidata Community Equipment Awards solicitation. A total of $100,000, including UCAR overhead, is available for awards this year. Proposals for amounts up to $20,000 will be considered. The deadline date for submitting proposals is March 16, 2009. Notification of award status will be made by mid May, 2009.

• Are you interested in participating in the Unidata program?
• Do you need to purchase or upgrade your equipment to join the Unidata program or continue your participation?
• Do you have some special datasets or an innovative tool to contribute to the Unidata community?

If the answer is yes to any of the above questions, the Unidata Equipment Awards Program will be of interest to you. We are now soliciting proposals for computer equipment purchases from academic institutions engaged in teaching and research in the geosciences. See solicitation.

November 4, 2008

USPLN lightning data
Upon completion of GEMPAK and McIDAS decoders, USPLN lightning data will be available to the community for research and education. We anticipate that we will be able to announce the availability within the month.

Be watching the Unidata home page for a news announcement providing information on the data stream with conditions of use, which will be similar to those governing the use of NLDN lightning data.

The workshop includes training sessions in the Integrated Data Viewer (IDV)--two separate sessions--the THREDDS Data Server, netCDF for developers, and the LDM, Local Data Manager.

All Unidata staff members are pleased to welcome this year's workshop participants.

Below is information that the Unidata Users Committee has compiled about functionalities not currently available in IDV, but desirable to add to it. GEMPAK will remain available for the indeterminate future, but at some point, sites will have to migrate from GEMPAK to another package. It is important that the community identify critical functionalities of the current GEMPAK software that must be retained (or enhanced) in future incarnations of AWIPS-II, IDV, or other packages. Which capabilities could be handled by IDV, and which would not make sense to roll into IDV? Which functionalities are most critical to the user community?

The following features are available in the Unidata NAWIPS suite. It includes a set of programs that use data in GEMPAK format, and in most cases, use GEMPAK programs to manipulate and display data. These programs include NMAP2, NSHARP, GARP, and GEMPAK.

See a list is of functionalities requested by users thus far. It is not prioritized. If you have thoughts on how to prioritize it, or you have items you’d like to add, please share them in the NAWIPS Migration forum: http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=21

For a comprehensive list of features, please see the release notes.

June 25, 2008
Software Training Workshop for 2008: The cutoff date for registration is August 29th, so register soon!

The Unidata Software Training Workshop sessions for 2008 will be from October 27 - November 13. The six consecutive sessions in order are: GEMPAK, LDM, IDV (Introductory and Advanced) THREDDS Data Server Administration, netCDF for Developers, and McIDAS. For more details see the announcement.

The three day Data Workshop will be a combination of plenary, breakout, and hands-on/demonstration sessions that focus on:

• Use of scientific datasets of interest to the Latin American community
• Availability of a wide variety of data through the IDD and IDD-Brasil data sharing networks:
• Use of Unidata's THREDDS Data Server (TDS) and McIDAS' ADDE capability for remote serving-of and access-to data
• Strategies for sharing of locally-held datasets of general interest

Here is the detailed announcement. (pdf)

The UPC is keenly aware that changes envisioned will have a significant impact on our community and that many of you have concerns. Be assured that we are fully committed to supporting university GEMPAK users for as long as feasible, even as we work with our users in providing a smooth and orderly migration to other long term solutions.

The UPC is most interested in your thoughts on this matter and invites community input. Please send your comments, concerns, or suggestions to nawipsmigration@unidata.ucar.edu. To facilitate discussion on this topic, the UPC has also set up an online forum.

For more information, please see:

• Summary of resolutions and background information
• Summary of the GEMPAK, IDV, and AWIPS-II visualization/analysis packages: strengths and weaknesses

A Unidata Regional Workshop will take place at Plymouth State University on May 18-20, 2008. Space is limited and with the registration cutoff date coming up in two and a half weeks, it's probably time to make your reservation if you think you might like to attend. Reserve your spot now, there are only 5 seats left!

The workshop's theme is Unidata's Integrated Data Viewer. The 2½ day workshop will allow for hands on instruction with Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) software. Representatives from Unidata will be onsite to provide tutorials on IDV and to discuss other Unidata projects and initiatives. Participants will be a mixture of university faculty and students, research scientists, K-12 teachers, and other interested individuals from across the New England region.

On behalf of Plymouth State workshop organizers we invite you to view additional information and the agenda.

February 11, 2008
At AMS: Experience On-Demand, Dynamically Adaptive Interaction with Weather
Rich Clark, Millersville University
LEAD (Linked Environments for Atmospheric Discovery) is an emerging paradigm shift away from observing and prediction systems that operate in fixed configurations, on fixed schedules largely independent of weather, to one that can change configuration dynamically in response to the evolving weather. LEAD has developed a technology-based infrastructure to allow scientists, students, tools, and sensors to interact with weather.

February 6, 2008
David Fulker Receives the Cleveland Abbe Award
Former Unidata director David Fulker received the Cleveland Abbe Award during the 2008 AMS awards ceremony. The Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to Atmospheric Sciences by an Individual is presented on the basis of activities that have materially contributed to the progress of the atmospheric sciences or to the application of atmospheric sciences to general, social, economic, or humanitarian welfare.

While the scope and reach of the plan are broad, it is grounded to a well-established set of core values and governing principles that have guided Unidata since its inception. Simply put, this plan is a natural evolution of a successful program built on twenty five years of experience as a national facility committed to providing responsible leadership, data services, tools and support to an ever-expanding community of users.

The plan's development was a great team effort that included the UPC staff, Users and Policy committees, and UCAR colleagues.

As a program built on active community participation, we are much interested in your comments and feedback. Please send your comments to info@unidata.ucar.edu.

Dr. Mohan Ramamurthy
Director, Unidata

Scientists are asked to use one of several web-enabled "social softwares" (listed below) to contribute either text or images (or both). A wiki page serves as the aggregator of all of the web resources. So that contributions can be readily harvested, please use the common tag 0710222SoCalSmoke. You may also send your contributions directly to Dr. Husar by sending him the link or links.

If you prefer, however, you may use these links:

• DEL.ICIO.US for social bookmarking
• Flickr for images
• Google for images, news and general web
• Technorati for blogs
• YouTube for videos.

• Central Michigan University, Dr. Martin Baxter - "Enhancing the Use of IDV and GEMPACK in Undergraduate Research and Education at Central Michigan University"
• Florida Institute of Technology, Dr. Steven M. Lazarus - "A Multidisciplinary Computer Lab for Meteorological and Oceanographic Applications at the Florida Institute of Technology"
• University of Missouri-Columbia, Patrick S. Market, Anthony R. Lupo and Neil I. Fox - "Increasing Use of the Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) in the Atmospheric Science Curriculum at the University of Missouri-Columbia"
• Plymouth State University, Brendon Hoch - "Enhancement of Meteorology Technology at PSU"
• San Francisco State University, Dr. Dave Dempsey - "Upgrading SFSU's Weather Graphics and Simulation Laboratory"
• University of Utah, Dr. John Horel - "Enhancing Use of Surface Observations in IDV"

The CLASS the system is:

1. The IT component for archive of certain NOAA data.
2. A secure storage system for other NOAA data.
3. A portal for some NOAA and non-NOAA data.
4. A component of the infrastructure necessary for science data stewardship activities.
5. Interoperable with other systems relating to the NOAA mission.