About NCAR & UCAR

Fostering deeper understanding of the atmosphere, Earth, and Sun

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research serves as a hub for research, education, and public outreach for the atmospheric and related Earth sciences community.  more below >

The National Center for Atmospheric Research provides research, observing and computing facilities, and a variety of services for the atmospheric and related Earth sciences community. more below >

UCAR Community Programs provide innovative services in support of the community's education and research goals. more below >

NCAR and the UCAR Community Programs are managed by UCAR, a nonprofit consortium of research universities, on behalf of the National Science Foundation and the university community.

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

UCAR provides services to and promotes partnerships in a collaborative community of researchers and educators who are dedicated to understanding the atmosphere—the air around us—and the complex processes that make up the Earth system, from the ocean floor to the Sun's core. We manage the National Center for Atmospheric Research and UCAR Community Programs on behalf of the National Science Foundation and the university community. Our headquarters are in Boulder, Colorado.

UCAR's mission is to

• support, enhance, and extend the capabilities of the university community, nationally and internationally

• understand the behavior of the atmosphere and related systems and the global environment

• foster the transfer of knowledge and technology for the betterment of life on Earth

Founded in 1960, UCAR is a nonprofit consortium of North American member universities, each of which grants doctoral degrees in the atmospheric and related sciences, plus an increasing number of international affiliates offering comparable degrees, and North American academic affiliates offering predoctoral degrees. 

Members of the private sector serve on governance boards, collaborate with researchers, contribute funding to specific projects, and participate in technology transfer activities. Through its Office of Government Affairs, UCAR advocates for strong federal science budgets on behalf of the geosciences community.

You'll find more about UCAR and NCAR in Our History.

UCAR Home | UCAR President's Office

National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCAR is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the National Science Foundation and devoted to service, research and education in the atmospheric and related sciences. Significant additional support is provided by other U.S. government agencies, other national governments, and the private sector.

NCAR’s mission is to understand the behavior of the atmosphere and related physical, biological and social systems; to support, enhance, and extend the capabilities of the university community and the broader scientific community—nationally and internationally; and to foster transfer of knowledge and technology for the betterment of life on Earth. 

NCAR supports the community of atmospheric and geoscience researchers with:

• tools—such as aircraft and radar, to observe the atmosphere, and

• technology and assistance—to interpret and use these observations, including supercomputer access, computer models, and user support.

Our research projects cover a vast array of topics and are collaborations between NCAR scientists and university researchers:

• atmospheric chemistry—such as the chemical structure of healthy and polluted air

• climate—including temperature, rainfall, winds, and extreme events over decades or centuries, from prehistoric times to the present and into the future

• weather ingredients—such as cloud physics, storm structure, and other keys to improved weather forecasting

• weather hazards to transportation—including detection and warning systems for turbulence and icing in the air and on the ground

• interactions between the Sun and Earth—including solar weather

• computer science innovation—for understanding and visualizing the whole Earth system

• the role of humanity in both creating change and responding to weather and climate

NCAR Home | NCAR Director's Office

UCAR Community Programs

UCAR's community programs strengthen education, research, and technology in the atmospheric and related sciences through programs and projects which:

• help organize multiagency experiments

• support satellite-based Earth and atmospheric monitoring

• provide real-time weather data for education and research

• manage postdoctoral fellowship programs for federal agencies

• link universities and operational forecast offices

• provide resources for constructing and organizing community digital libraries

• train working forecasters and university instructors in the latest meteorological research

Until May 2009, UCP was known as the UCAR Office of Programs (UOP)

UCP Home | UCP Director's Office