(Denver Post) January 25, 2010
As the 1960s began, meteorology was poised to explode as the first weather satellites were set to be launched and more powerful computers were being built. Researchers thought they needed a well-equipped science center if they were going to change weather to a sophisticated theoretical science. So in 1960, 14 universities — with the backing of the National Science Foundation — formed the National Center for Atmospheric Research and chose Boulder for its home. Fifty years later, NCAR has grown from five full-time scientists to about 220 Ph.D. researchers. The 14 founding universities that made up the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research — the umbrella organization that governs NCAR — have been joined by more than 60 other schools, including the University of Colorado.
NCAR's research focus has also expanded from accurate weather forecasts a few days out to the creation of intricate climate models that try to predict how rising greenhouse gas concentrations might change the planet in the next century. NCAR scientists also study sun and space weather, air chemistry and pollution, and how land use and wildfires impact climate.
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