NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards

NSF Unidata is happy to announce the Community Equipment Award recipients for 2026. Created under the sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation, NSF Unidata equipment awards are intended to encourage new members from diverse disciplinary backgrounds in the geosciences to join the NSF Unidata community, and to encourage existing members to continue their active participation, enhancing the community process.

Between 2003 and 2026, NSF Unidata has awarded over $1.7 million to 120 different projects at 70 colleges and universities through the Community Equipment Awards program.

Three institutions received funding this year:

  • University of South Alabama 

    Acquiring a Dedicated Workstation to Support Advanced MetPy-Based Synoptic Weather Visualization and Analysis as Part of The University of South Alabama Meteorology Program’s Capstone Course 

  • University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez

     Enhancing Applied Learning Opportunities for Students in Meteorology

  • University of Iowa 

    A Data-Proximate Computing Platform for Federated Earth Systems Science Data Access: Integrating Iowa Water Quality Monitoring with the NSF Unidata Ecosystem

Historically, NSF Unidata has funded a high percentage of the projects submitted for consideration. Proposals are short, and NSF Unidata Program Center staff are available to assist proposers throughout the process, from advising on proposal preparation and hardware specification to assisting with installation and configuration of NSF Unidata software technologies.

We invite you to provide suggestions for the focus of future Equipment Award RFPs, and to keep your eyes open for the 2027 announcement. To get an idea of the wide range of recipient institutions and projects, including copies of successful proposals, visit the Equipment Awards page.