[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8920-8921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-5267]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 960130020-6020-01]
RIN 0648-2A18


Joint and Cooperative Institute Program

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Environmental 
Research Laboratories (ERL), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NOAA issues this notice to announce its Fiscal Year 1996 
funding plan to continue its financial support of the Cooperative and 
Joint Institutes sponsored by the NOAA Environmental Research 
Laboratories. The Cooperative and Joint Institute Program establishes 
formal, collaborative research agreements between ERL through the 
Office of the Director and participating universities. The primary 
purpose of each institute is to create a mechanism to bring together 
the resources of a research-oriented university, the ERL and other 
branches of NOAA in order to develop a center of excellence in research 
relevant to understanding the Earth's oceans, the Great Lakes, inland 
waters, arctic regions, solar terrestrial environment, intermountain 
west and the atmosphere.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marilyn Moll, Program Manager, 
OAR/ERL Joint Institute Program 1315 East-West Highway (R/E), Silver 
Spring, Maryland 20910. (301) 713-2474. Internet:[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The institutes represent a close research 
link between ERL, other branches of NOAA and the academic units of 
various universities. The collaboration between the universities and 
NOAA provides an interdisciplinary approach and a pooling of resources 
required to address the needs of the universities and NOAA for better 
scientific understanding, and of NOAA for improved capability of 
environmental prediction and other mission-related goals. NOAA funds 
activities of the institutes through cooperative agreements with the 
universities to support and stimulate research in defined areas which 
comport with NOAA's mission as authorized pursuant to 49 U.S.C. App. 
Sec. 1463, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 883d, and 15 U.S.C. Sec. 2904.
    The institutes are established by a Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU) between NOAA and each university. The MOU identifies the unique 
capabilities of the university, the interdisciplinary areas for 
proposed themes of research, and structure of the institute. Each 
participating organization takes full financial and operational 
responsibility for its employees affiliated with the institute. The 
director of the institute is a university senior faculty/staff member. 
The location of the institutes are generally on university property. 
Financial assistance is not provided through the MOU. The research 
themes and associated administrative costs of the institutes are 
currently funded by a cooperative agreement. The period of the 
cooperative agreement for the Fiscal Year 1996 funding cycle will be 
for five years.
    Subject to the availability of funds, NOAA intends to continue 
supporting the following institutes during the Fiscal Year 1996 funding 
cycle.
    The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences/
University of Colorado (CIRES). The University of Colorado is the only 
university co-located with NOAA research laboratories in Boulder, and 
the only university in the Colorado area that has the critical mass or 
the quality of atmospheric chemistry to support the Climate and Global 
Change and Air Quality programs of NOAA. CIRES' research themes include 
environmental chemistry, atmospheric and climate dynamics and solid 
earth sciences.
    The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere/Colorado 
State University (CIRA). The Colorado State University is the only 
other Colorado university co-located with a NOAA research program, and 
is the only university in Colorado that has a graduate meteorological 
program that is required to support the Climate and 

[[Page 8921]]
Global Change and weather research missions of NOAA. CIRA's research 
themes include global climate dynamics, local weather forecasting, 
applied cloud physics, satellite observations, air quality, and 
numerical modeling.
    The Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies/
University of Oklahoma (CIMMS). The University of Oklahoma is the only 
university in the Norman area co-located with the NOAA research 
laboratory, and it is unique in graduate mesoscale meteorology research 
and training--a primary consideration for the study of tornadoes and 
severe convective storm processes. Also co-located with CIMMS are the 
National Weather Service Forecast Office and the Operational Support 
Facility, CIMMS' research themes include basic convective and mesoscale 
research, forecast improvements, climate effects of/controls on 
mesoscale processes, socioeconomic effects of mesoscale weather systems 
and regional climate variations.
    The Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research/
University of Michigan (CILER). The University of Michigan is the only 
university co-located with the NOAA Great Lakes ERL. The University is 
the only one in the Ann Arbor area that has expertise in Great Lakes 
limnology and ecosystems research. CILER's research themes include 
climate and large lakes dynamics, coastal and nearshore processes, and 
large lake ecosystem structure and function.
    The Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies/
University of Miami (CIMAS). The Rosenstiel School of Marine 
Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, is the only university 
component co-located with NOAA/AOML. It is also co-located with NOAA/
Southeast Fisheries Center, is the only university in the Miami region 
that has a graduate program in meteorological and oceanic research, and 
has the number and caliber of researchers able to effectively 
coordinate research with NOAA Fisheries, Climate and Global Change, 
Coastal Ocean and Hurricane research elements. CIMAS' research themes 
include climate variability, fishery dynamics and coastal ocean 
ecosystem processes.
    The Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research/University of Alaska 
(CIFAR). The University of Alaska is the only university situated in 
the Arctic region that has graduate programs in the collaborative 
research areas of fisheries oceanography, hydrographic studies and sea 
ice dynamics, atmospheric research, climate dynamics and variability, 
tsumani research and prediction, and environmental assessment, 
monitoring and numerical modeling. CIFAR's research themes include all 
phases of arctic research.
    The Cooperative Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Terrestrial 
Applications/Desert Research Institute of the University and Community 
College System of Nevada (CIASTA). The Desert Research Institute (DRI) 
represents the University and Community College system of Nevada. 
NOAA's National Weather Service forecast office is co-located on DRI's 
campus. DRI and NOAA will continue to collaborate on weather, climate 
and remote sensing research. CIASTA's research themes include 
atmospheric physics and chemistry in mountainous regions, hydrology and 
water supply in the arid regions, aerospace remote sensing, atmospheric 
modification, and global environmental change.
    The Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Oceans/
University of Washington (JISAO). The University of Washington is the 
only university in the Seattle area co-located with NOAA/PMEL and is 
the only university in the Seattle area that has graduate research 
programs in oceanography and meteorology which coordinate research and 
support NOAA's Climate and Global Change, Coastal Ocean and Weather 
Research offices. JISAO's research themes include climate variability, 
estuarine processes, environmental chemistry, and interannual 
variability of fisheries recruitment.
    The Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research/University 
of Hawaii (JIMAR). The University of Hawaii is co-located with the 
Tsunami Forecast Center, the National Marine Fisheries Center, the 
National Weather Service, is the closest university to the NOAA 
observatory on Mauna Loa and is the only U.S. university that supports 
graduate programs in Tsunami research. It is the only U.S. university 
that has a Pacific sea level measuring program, and is the only U.S. 
university sited geographically close enough to maintain a viable 
research program in fishery recruitment on volcanic islands in the 
Pacific. JIMAR's research themes include tsunamis, climate research, 
equatorial oceanography, fisheries oceanography and tropical 
meteorology.
    Each of the universities provide the location/space, staff, and 
share in the financial support to operate the institutes. NOAA utilizes 
the institutes to collaborate on research and provides financial 
support to enhance the public benefits to be derived by universities' 
research activities. The institutes with universities are established 
based on their geographical location associated with the NOAA 
Environmental Research Laboratories and expertise in the research 
activity related to NOAA's mission.
    The base funding for each institute generally ranges from $100,000 
to $700,000 a year. The institutes' funding cycle will be contingent 
upon the appropriation of funds by the Congress of the United States 
and the legislature of the universities' states necessary for NOAA and 
the universities to meet all of their respective financial obligations.
    NOAA does not intend to establish or fund new institutes at this 
time. This notice is not a solicitation for proposals.
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
    The ERL institute program is listed in the Catalogue of Federal 
Domestic Assistance under number 11.432, Environmental Research 
Laboratories Cooperative Institutes and under number 11.455, 
Cooperative Science and Education Program.
Classification
    This action has been determined to be not significant for purposes 
of E.O. 12866.
    Dated: December 19, 1995.
Marilyn Moll,
Program Manager, OAR/ERL Joint Institute Program.
[FR Doc. 96-5267 Filed 3-5-96; 8:45 am]
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