REU Site: Program in Climate and Space Science Observation (PICASSO) at the University of Michigan

Improvements in the understanding of the climate and space sciences rely on the use of both ground- and space-based observations. In addition to providing insights into many complex processes and trends, these observations can also aid in the development and evaluation of weather and climate forecast models, Earth environmental models, space weather models, as well as models which describe the evolution and state of planetary atmospheres.

Combined, these observations and models can be used to protect human health and welfare in a number of ways, including: (a) providing advanced warning for hazardous weather events, (b) providing guidance on short- and long-term weather conditions which can impact agricultural and industrial economic sectors, (c) aiding in the development of climate adaptation strategies to protect sensitive natural environments, community infrastructure, and indigenous practices, and (d) allowing for the prediction of solar storm interactions with our atmosphere, which have the potential to impact global communications, electrical power grids, and aviation safety.

The Program in Climate and Space Science Observation (PICASSO) at the University of Michigan seeks to engage a diverse cohort of students with hands-on exposure to a broad range of climate and space science topics, including meteorology and climate variability, atmospheric-biosphere exchange, aerosols and atmospheric chemistry, remote sensing, computational modeling, space weather and planetary atmospheres. Through these projects, students will have the opportunity to learn technical skills, such as: (a) research project development and management, (b) data collection, quality assurance, analysis, and visualization, (c) computational model development, application and evaluation, and (d) assessment and consideration of uncertainties in the interpretation of research results.

In addition to the technical skill-building elements of the program, students will participate in a series of professional development activities which will focus on: (a) understanding practices associated with the responsible and ethical conduct of research, (b) developing skills for the communication of scientific research results to their peers and the general public, (c) learning the nuances of selecting, applying to, and succeeding in graduate school, and (d) developing a greater sense of self-understanding and self-authorship in support of professional and personal decision-making. In doing so, we will seek to improve the confidence of these students regarding their continued participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Overall, our program will seek to produce scientifically-trained, culturally and ethically responsible scientists, engineers and leaders. This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.