Desert Research Institute and Division of Atmospheric Sciences Overview

Dr. Darko Koracin Research Professor Division of Atmospheric Sciences Desert Research Institute, Nevada System of Higher Education, Reno, Nevada [email protected]

WIDA Conference 13-15 March 2012 Reno, Nevada

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Over 50 years of Science, Engineering & Technology

 1960: $2.5 Million in Research Funding  2010: ~$55 Million in Research Funding DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.

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Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE)

Board of Regents Chancellor System Office Universities Community Colleges

UNLV UNR CSN GBC TMCC WNC

DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.

State College

Nevada State College

Research Institute

DRI

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DRI at a Glance

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   ~558 employees with ~140 research faculty Non-tenure / soft-money structure:   Faculty are not tenured and

generate own salaries

positions) (no state-funded Faculty bring ~$40M into Nevada’s economy!

Direct return on state-funded investment is $5-to-$1   At any given time, DRI conducts about 300 research projects worldwide Over 60 specialized labs & research facilities to improve people’s lives:  Renewable Energy Center  Ultra-Trace Chemistry Lab  Environmental Analysis Facility  Center for Advanced Computation/Visualization  Ecologically Controlled Enclosed Lysimeter Labs  Computing facility DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.

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Campuses and Facilities

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Today, DRI has two primary campuses:

 Reno  Las Vegas 

with research facilities in:

 Boulder City  Steamboat Springs, CO  Stead

Northern Nevada Science Center Reno Southern Nevada Science Center – Las Vegas Storm Peak Laboratory – Steamboat Springs Colorado

DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.

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Research Structure

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DRI Divisions

 Hydrological Sciences  Earth and Ecosystem Sciences  Atmospheric Sciences Air 

Integrated Science Centers

 Clean Energy and Renewable Technology Center (CTREC)  Center for Watershed Environmental Sustainability (CWES) Land and Life  Rogers Center for Environmental Remediation and Monitoring (CERM)  Center for Advanced Visualization, Computation, and Modeling (CAVCaM) Water DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.

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Funding

 Major sponsors of grants and contracts include federal agencies (DoE, DoD, NSF, DoI, and EPA)  DRI also has state, local, and private grants

DRI FY2010 Sponsored Projects Expenditures by Sponsor Total : $37.6 million Dept-Energy, 20% Private, Foreign 14% State/Local Govt., 21% EPA,NOAA,NASA 8% NSF, 8% Dept-Defense, 21% Dept-Interior, 8%

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Division of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS)

DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.

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DAS Core Research Areas

Air Quality Field Study Design/Coordination

• Develop study plans • Manage field operations • Data compilation • Data quality control/quality assurance Equipment at Fresno Supersite 9

DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring & Assessment

• Sampling for criteria pollutant gases and aerosols • Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) • Light absorption, scattering, and extinction • Air quality modeling • Personal exposure assessments • State Implementation Plan Poor and Natural Visibility at the Grand Canyon

DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)

Pollutant Emissions Characterization

• Real-time and remote measurement of vehicle emissions • Dilution sampling of stationary source emissions • Fugitive dust emissions • Ultra-fine and nanoparticle emissions • Development of emission factors and inventories 11 Emissions measurement from in-use vehicle

DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)

Meteorological Measurements and Modeling

• Continuous meteorological parameters (temp., pressure, RH, wind speed/direction) • Atmospheric motions and thermodynamic parameters • Radar and satellite assessments of cloud and precipitation fields • Mesoscale dynamics and modeling • Real time weather and air quality

DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)

Aerosols, Clouds, and Precipitation

• Particle size distributions • Cloud droplet formation and evolution • Cloud physics/chemistry • Cloud radiative properties • Impact of aerosols on climate Probes mounted on NOAA P-3 aircraft 13

DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)

14 Fire Science

• Relationships among climate, weather, fire, and natural resources • Operational fire weather forecasting and smoke predictions • Decision-support tools for fire applications • Mass, composition, and effects of fire emissions Monthly lightning strikes – July (data from 1985 - 1994

DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)

Energy-Related Research

• Relationships between climate and energy • Wind resource mapping • Environmental impacts of energy productivity, distribution, and use.

• Forecasting near-term variations in wind and solar energy resources • Biofuel production and impacts 15

Other DAS Capabilities and Interests

Technology Development and Licensing

• Most DAS technologies involve meteorology:  meteorological measurements  emissions/air quality  Modeling and forecasting • Protection and licensing of intellectual property is handled by a joint Technology Transfer Office (TTO) between UNR and DRI  For more information, see: www.tto.nevada.edu

16 Hot Plate Precipitation Gauges

Other DAS Capabilities and Interests

17 Two Major Analytical Laboratories

1. Organic Analytical Lab (OAL) 2. Environmental Analysis Facility (EAF) - Labs support internal research programs and provide service to outside sponsors - Provide chemical analysis of inorganic species, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, hazardous pollutants, etc.

Other DAS Capabilities and Interests

18 Other Laboratories within DAS

1. Aerosol laboratory 2. Particulate Emissions Measurement Lab (PEML) 3. Carter Family Optics and Acoustics Lab 4. Ice Physics Lab 5. Atmospheric Remote Sensing Lab 6. Storm Peak Laboratory 7. Mesoscale Dynamics and Modeling Lab 8. Air Quality Modeling Lab 9. Real-time forecasting 10. Climate modeling 11. Energy Laboratory

Other DAS Capabilities and Interests

19 WRCC – (Western Regional Climate Center)

• One of six NOAA-funded regional climate centers • Provides climate information services and conducts climate research • Over 1 million web hits/month (see www.wrcc.dri.edu) WRCC service region

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DRI projects supported by DOD Highlights

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