NOAA funded research center focused on increasing the number of workforce-ready graduates from underrepresented communities through high-quality research and collaborative discovery. NCAS-M, the NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, is a research center directed by Howard University and funded by the Educational Partnership Program with Minority-Serving Instituti
ons Cooperative Agreement. NCAS-M aims to “increase the number of underrepresented workforce-ready graduates in NOAA-related sciences” with the full support of NOAA, other federal and private sector partnerships. NCAS-M consists of 13 universities, which work to improve education and research that align with the NOAA’s mission. NCAS-M fulfills these goals through opportunities such as workshops, courses, outreach activities in order to advance student training and professional development. In September 2001, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS) was awarded a cooperative agreement with the Department of Commerce NOAA Educational Partnership Program. NCAS is a cooperative partnership between four (4) minority-serving institutions (MSI): Howard University (HU) — the lead institution, Jackson State University (JSU), the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM), and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP); and two (2) majority universities: University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), and the State University of New York at Albany (SUNYA). The four MSI partners possess the highest concentrations of African American and Hispanic students in the physical sciences, engineering, and atmospheric-related disciplines, including meteorology, at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
