Our Impact

NCAS-M

For more than 20 years, the NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences – Meteorology (NCAS-M), formerly NCAS, funded students from underrepresented communities whose educational efforts were focused on degrees aligned with NOAA’s mission, including those in STEM, natural resource management and policy fields. Focused on increasing the number of highly qualified, well-trained graduates ready to enter NOAA’s workforce, the Center’s dedicated higher education faculty and staff have worked to provide students with opportunities to conduct research, receive professional development and obtain career training.

Funded for three consecutive cycles, our Center’s history has many notable milestones, such as:  

  • $20 million in leveraged dollars, 
  • 800+ NOAA collaborative research projects, 
  • 70 NOAA collaborators, 
  • 10+ AEROSE cruises on the Atlantic Ocean, 
  • 10 alumni added to NOAA’s workforce, 
  • 935 peer-reviewed publications, 
  • 165 students supported over three funding cycles,  
  • 10K young students reached during outreach events, 
  • 250 conference technical presentations, 
  • 15 doctoral degrees (PhDs) supported, and  
  • 250 NOAA student experiential learning activities. 

NCAS

In September 2001, NCAS was one of the first to be awarded a cooperative agreement from the Department of Commerce’s Educational Partnership Program (EPP). At the time, the grant allowed for the support of four minority-serving institutions (MSI), Howard University, Jackson State University, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagauez and the University of Texas at El Paso, as well as two majority universities, which were the University of Maryland College Park and State University of New York at Albany. Since its initial funding, the Center has included a total of 13 academic institutions. As of September 2022, there are nine institutions, which are in bold below. Regardless of the grant cycle, each institution represented a unique niche within the academic community that combines research-intensive activities, advanced STEM education, collaborative research training, and capacity-building in NOAA mission-relevant disciplines across their campuses. Each contributed to a rich spectrum of student training and professional development through workshops and webinars, shared courses and seminars, outreach activities, student recruitment and mentoring. 

  1. Howard University (Lead) 
  2. Jackson State University 
  3. Pennsylvania State University 
  4. San Jose State University 
  5. State University of New York at Albany 
  6. University of Maryland College Park 
  7. University of Maryland Baltimore County 
  8. University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez 
  9. University of Texas El Paso 
  10. Fort Valley State University 
  11. San Diego State University 
  12. Tuskegee University 
  13. Universidad Metropolitana 

More Information on NCAS & NCAS-M

To learn more about the impact of NCAS and NCAS-M over the years follow us on social media and listen to our special podcast episode dedicated to reviewing our impact and explore the links below. 

EPP Impact

The Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP) is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and future workforce program. EPP strengthens America’s position as a global leader in STEM by educating and training American students from across the U.S. in disciplines aligned with NOAA’s mission.

NOAA strategically partners with EPP Cooperative Science Center academic institutions to conduct cutting-edge and collaborative research, prepare students in fields related to NOAA’s mission, and co-develop new tools.

Since EPP’s first awards were made in 2001 through 2024, the program has supported:

  • 4,665 U.S. students pursuing postsecondary degrees that are aligned with NOAA’s mission
  • 2,785 post-secondary degrees have been supported by EPP programs.
  • 294 undergraduate students have been supported by EPP Undergraduate Scholarship Program
  • 287 graduate students have completed NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunities (NERTOs)

To learn more about the impact of EPP, visit NOAA’s official EPP Impacts page.

Alumni

NCAS-M supported nearly 200 fellows and interns.

View Alumni Profiles

Publications

NCAS-M supported nearly 100 publications that contributed to the fields of Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology.

View Publication List