Tuesday, 30 January 2024: 2:45 PM
308 (The Baltimore Convention Center)
In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS)
launched the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Internship Program, which hosted
14 students for 10 weeks from June to August at its campus in College Park, MD. Until 2019, the focus
was on computer science, meteorology and mathematics, skills highly relevant for NWS weather
modeling and prediction functions. Since then, the program (renamed after its founder and main
sponsor, Dr. Bill Lapenta, passed away tragically in Fall of that year) has expanded to include all NOAA
Line Offices (NWS, Office of Atmospheric and Oceanic Research (OAR), National Environmental Satellite,
Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Ocean Service (NOS), and National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS)) as well as the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), while maintaining the
focus more on operational skills than on primary research. The 10 week program emphasizes
operational experience, programming, engineering, weather, climate and ocean modeling, Earth system
science, as well as social science, policy, communications and decision support, skills in high demand at
NOAA. In addition to their project, interns also participate in professional development activities,
attend seminars on NOAA’s various labs, offices and programs, and network with NOAA scientists and
staff. In this presentation, we present the approach and results of a highly effective NOAA internship
model which has been successful at training the future NOAA-mission workforce. Through 2023, the
program has produced 234 alumni, approximately one third of whom are graduate students.
Approximately 110 have completed their initial degree. Fifty have pursued an additional advanced
degree, all but one of which is in a NOAA mission field. The Lapenta internship has a strong record of
preparing students for the NOAA workforce. Of the 60 alumni currently in the workforce, 32% are
working/have worked at NOAA as feds, contractors, Pathways interns or CI employees. Three alumni
have since left the agency for other opportunities. Surveys of alumni continue to reflect strong interest
in employment at NOAA. The program strongly values a diverse cohort of interns and continues to
develop partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs, Tribal nations and colleges and with multicultural organizations
at universities which produce degrees in NOAA sciences. Applications had been received from 219
institutions across the nation, including many from which the program had not previously received an
application. In 2023, 25% were from groups underrepresented in the NOAA mission sciences. Nearly
60% were women.
launched the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Internship Program, which hosted
14 students for 10 weeks from June to August at its campus in College Park, MD. Until 2019, the focus
was on computer science, meteorology and mathematics, skills highly relevant for NWS weather
modeling and prediction functions. Since then, the program (renamed after its founder and main
sponsor, Dr. Bill Lapenta, passed away tragically in Fall of that year) has expanded to include all NOAA
Line Offices (NWS, Office of Atmospheric and Oceanic Research (OAR), National Environmental Satellite,
Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Ocean Service (NOS), and National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS)) as well as the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), while maintaining the
focus more on operational skills than on primary research. The 10 week program emphasizes
operational experience, programming, engineering, weather, climate and ocean modeling, Earth system
science, as well as social science, policy, communications and decision support, skills in high demand at
NOAA. In addition to their project, interns also participate in professional development activities,
attend seminars on NOAA’s various labs, offices and programs, and network with NOAA scientists and
staff. In this presentation, we present the approach and results of a highly effective NOAA internship
model which has been successful at training the future NOAA-mission workforce. Through 2023, the
program has produced 234 alumni, approximately one third of whom are graduate students.
Approximately 110 have completed their initial degree. Fifty have pursued an additional advanced
degree, all but one of which is in a NOAA mission field. The Lapenta internship has a strong record of
preparing students for the NOAA workforce. Of the 60 alumni currently in the workforce, 32% are
working/have worked at NOAA as feds, contractors, Pathways interns or CI employees. Three alumni
have since left the agency for other opportunities. Surveys of alumni continue to reflect strong interest
in employment at NOAA. The program strongly values a diverse cohort of interns and continues to
develop partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs, Tribal nations and colleges and with multicultural organizations
at universities which produce degrees in NOAA sciences. Applications had been received from 219
institutions across the nation, including many from which the program had not previously received an
application. In 2023, 25% were from groups underrepresented in the NOAA mission sciences. Nearly
60% were women.
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