[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8920-8921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-5267]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 960130020-6020-01]
RIN 0648-2A18
Joint and Cooperative Institute Program
AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Environmental
Research Laboratories (ERL), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: NOAA issues this notice to announce its Fiscal Year 1996
funding plan to continue its financial support of the Cooperative and
Joint Institutes sponsored by the NOAA Environmental Research
Laboratories. The Cooperative and Joint Institute Program establishes
formal, collaborative research agreements between ERL through the
Office of the Director and participating universities. The primary
purpose of each institute is to create a mechanism to bring together
the resources of a research-oriented university, the ERL and other
branches of NOAA in order to develop a center of excellence in research
relevant to understanding the Earth's oceans, the Great Lakes, inland
waters, arctic regions, solar terrestrial environment, intermountain
west and the atmosphere.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marilyn Moll, Program Manager,
OAR/ERL Joint Institute Program 1315 East-West Highway (R/E), Silver
Spring, Maryland 20910. (301) 713-2474. Internet:mmoll@rdc.noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The institutes represent a close research
link between ERL, other branches of NOAA and the academic units of
various universities. The collaboration between the universities and
NOAA provides an interdisciplinary approach and a pooling of resources
required to address the needs of the universities and NOAA for better
scientific understanding, and of NOAA for improved capability of
environmental prediction and other mission-related goals. NOAA funds
activities of the institutes through cooperative agreements with the
universities to support and stimulate research in defined areas which
comport with NOAA's mission as authorized pursuant to 49 U.S.C. App.
Sec. 1463, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 883d, and 15 U.S.C. Sec. 2904.
The institutes are established by a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between NOAA and each university. The MOU identifies the unique
capabilities of the university, the interdisciplinary areas for
proposed themes of research, and structure of the institute. Each
participating organization takes full financial and operational
responsibility for its employees affiliated with the institute. The
director of the institute is a university senior faculty/staff member.
The location of the institutes are generally on university property.
Financial assistance is not provided through the MOU. The research
themes and associated administrative costs of the institutes are
currently funded by a cooperative agreement. The period of the
cooperative agreement for the Fiscal Year 1996 funding cycle will be
for five years.
Subject to the availability of funds, NOAA intends to continue
supporting the following institutes during the Fiscal Year 1996 funding
cycle.
The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences/
University of Colorado (CIRES). The University of Colorado is the only
university co-located with NOAA research laboratories in Boulder, and
the only university in the Colorado area that has the critical mass or
the quality of atmospheric chemistry to support the Climate and Global
Change and Air Quality programs of NOAA. CIRES' research themes include
environmental chemistry, atmospheric and climate dynamics and solid
earth sciences.
The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere/Colorado
State University (CIRA). The Colorado State University is the only
other Colorado university co-located with a NOAA research program, and
is the only university in Colorado that has a graduate meteorological
program that is required to support the Climate and
[[Page 8921]]
Global Change and weather research missions of NOAA. CIRA's research
themes include global climate dynamics, local weather forecasting,
applied cloud physics, satellite observations, air quality, and
numerical modeling.
The Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies/
University of Oklahoma (CIMMS). The University of Oklahoma is the only
university in the Norman area co-located with the NOAA research
laboratory, and it is unique in graduate mesoscale meteorology research
and training--a primary consideration for the study of tornadoes and
severe convective storm processes. Also co-located with CIMMS are the
National Weather Service Forecast Office and the Operational Support
Facility, CIMMS' research themes include basic convective and mesoscale
research, forecast improvements, climate effects of/controls on
mesoscale processes, socioeconomic effects of mesoscale weather systems
and regional climate variations.
The Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research/
University of Michigan (CILER). The University of Michigan is the only
university co-located with the NOAA Great Lakes ERL. The University is
the only one in the Ann Arbor area that has expertise in Great Lakes
limnology and ecosystems research. CILER's research themes include
climate and large lakes dynamics, coastal and nearshore processes, and
large lake ecosystem structure and function.
The Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies/
University of Miami (CIMAS). The Rosenstiel School of Marine
Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, is the only university
component co-located with NOAA/AOML. It is also co-located with NOAA/
Southeast Fisheries Center, is the only university in the Miami region
that has a graduate program in meteorological and oceanic research, and
has the number and caliber of researchers able to effectively
coordinate research with NOAA Fisheries, Climate and Global Change,
Coastal Ocean and Hurricane research elements. CIMAS' research themes
include climate variability, fishery dynamics and coastal ocean
ecosystem processes.
The Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research/University of Alaska
(CIFAR). The University of Alaska is the only university situated in
the Arctic region that has graduate programs in the collaborative
research areas of fisheries oceanography, hydrographic studies and sea
ice dynamics, atmospheric research, climate dynamics and variability,
tsumani research and prediction, and environmental assessment,
monitoring and numerical modeling. CIFAR's research themes include all
phases of arctic research.
The Cooperative Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Terrestrial
Applications/Desert Research Institute of the University and Community
College System of Nevada (CIASTA). The Desert Research Institute (DRI)
represents the University and Community College system of Nevada.
NOAA's National Weather Service forecast office is co-located on DRI's
campus. DRI and NOAA will continue to collaborate on weather, climate
and remote sensing research. CIASTA's research themes include
atmospheric physics and chemistry in mountainous regions, hydrology and
water supply in the arid regions, aerospace remote sensing, atmospheric
modification, and global environmental change.
The Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Oceans/
University of Washington (JISAO). The University of Washington is the
only university in the Seattle area co-located with NOAA/PMEL and is
the only university in the Seattle area that has graduate research
programs in oceanography and meteorology which coordinate research and
support NOAA's Climate and Global Change, Coastal Ocean and Weather
Research offices. JISAO's research themes include climate variability,
estuarine processes, environmental chemistry, and interannual
variability of fisheries recruitment.
The Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research/University
of Hawaii (JIMAR). The University of Hawaii is co-located with the
Tsunami Forecast Center, the National Marine Fisheries Center, the
National Weather Service, is the closest university to the NOAA
observatory on Mauna Loa and is the only U.S. university that supports
graduate programs in Tsunami research. It is the only U.S. university
that has a Pacific sea level measuring program, and is the only U.S.
university sited geographically close enough to maintain a viable
research program in fishery recruitment on volcanic islands in the
Pacific. JIMAR's research themes include tsunamis, climate research,
equatorial oceanography, fisheries oceanography and tropical
meteorology.
Each of the universities provide the location/space, staff, and
share in the financial support to operate the institutes. NOAA utilizes
the institutes to collaborate on research and provides financial
support to enhance the public benefits to be derived by universities'
research activities. The institutes with universities are established
based on their geographical location associated with the NOAA
Environmental Research Laboratories and expertise in the research
activity related to NOAA's mission.
The base funding for each institute generally ranges from $100,000
to $700,000 a year. The institutes' funding cycle will be contingent
upon the appropriation of funds by the Congress of the United States
and the legislature of the universities' states necessary for NOAA and
the universities to meet all of their respective financial obligations.
NOAA does not intend to establish or fund new institutes at this
time. This notice is not a solicitation for proposals.
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
The ERL institute program is listed in the Catalogue of Federal
Domestic Assistance under number 11.432, Environmental Research
Laboratories Cooperative Institutes and under number 11.455,
Cooperative Science and Education Program.
Classification
This action has been determined to be not significant for purposes
of E.O. 12866.
Dated: December 19, 1995.
Marilyn Moll,
Program Manager, OAR/ERL Joint Institute Program.
[FR Doc. 96-5267 Filed 3-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-M
