Review process for the letter report on the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP)
In response to the request from Dr. D. James Baker, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the BASC received from the USWRP Program Office the background material on the planning and prioritization of the program activities. These materials are all available on the USWRP web site located at: < http://uswrp.mmm.ucar.edu/uswrp.html>. The BASC also reviewed its previous statements on the USWRP contained in the report The Atmospheric Sciences Entering the Twenty-First Century. Budgetary information was provided from the Program Office and from the web site through FY 1999 with some preliminary FY 2000 information provided. The description of the NOAA budget increase was provided. All of this material permitted the BASC, during the actual meeting, to focus on the explicit task requested by Dr. Baker.
Agenda for the review:
Dr. Bill Hooke, Director of the USWRP Office in NOAA, led with a presentation of the overview of the USWRP bringing the BASC up-to-date on the program. This presentation has subsequently been placed on the USWRP web site for broader distribution.
Dr. Steve Nelson and Dr. Bob Schiffer presented the BASC information on the NSF and NASA, respectively, contributions to the program. The Department of Defense (U.S. Navy) representative was unable to attend, but Dr. Nelson, who has managed the grant program for the Navy, described the Navy program. Dr. John Gaynor, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and serving as a deputy to Dr. Hooke, presented details of the process used in NOAA.
After extensive interactions with the agency representatives, the BASC prepared the letter report for Dr. Baker.
