ARL and ORAU A Long-Standing Partnership, Further Together

The Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (ATDD) is one of several field divisions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory (ARL). ATDD originated from a U.S. weather bureau research office established during the late 1940s in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under the Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) sponsorship. The original arrangement allowed ATDD to provide specialization to the AEC in the area of atmospheric transport and dispersion modeling in the event of unplanned releases or accidents of radionuclides and in part to further advance the scientific knowledge in these topics. Since the mid-1970s, the NOAA staff at ATDD has been assisted by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). ORAU manages scientists, engineers, and technician working on-site at ATDD to advance climate observing systems, boundary layer measurements and meteorological field programs involving towers/instrumentation.

ORAU’s collaboration with ARL researchers ensures climate observation systems deliver quality data, contributing to ARL’s quality observation goal for improved understanding. This partnership results in research at the weather-climate interface, including regional climatology, renewable energy, satellite calibration/validation, and the role that meteorological and chemical measurements impact land surface changes and climate. ORAU’s atmospheric scientists embedded at ARL’s ATDD have provided engineering expertise on the development and deployment of instrumentation and data analysis for short intensive campaigns through multi-decade, nationwide climate monitoring.

To optimize collaborative research and research to operation transitions, designated ORAU researchers, engineers, and technical staff work on-site at ATDD. ORAU scientists, engineers, and technicians provide scientific and technical expertise and contribute to the advancement of ARL mission-related research and development activities as prioritized by the ATDD Director. Research responsibilities are coordinated and organized according to their respective skill sets and expertise. Under this process, ORAU scientist and engineers have contributed to the ability to collect quality data by collaborating on the development of solutions including fencing to collect precipitation data more accurately; tower fittings to allow for flexibility rather than damage during extreme weather; power sources capable of withstanding extreme weather; and preprogrammed probes to streamline installation.

Our ARL partnership expands beyond NOAA into complementary research. Over the past decade, university researchers have sought to collaborate on research with various ORAU and ARL employees. With ARL’s guidance, ORAU sought funding from the National Science Foundation to conduct research which complemented existing ARL scope. These relationships were selected and developed in partnership with ARL staff to complement ARL’s mission and make the most of ARL existing resources.

ORAU’s consortium, comprised of 152 colleges and universities, and specialization in staffing solutions, with access to a 300,000 plus candidate pool, has been leveraged to fill resource gaps in ARL’s enterprise. We have partnered to develop a lifecycle approach to recruitment which can take a candidate from post-doc, to full-time with ORAU, to federal retiree. As a team, we can access ORAU’s university consortium and workforce solutions for internships, fellowships, research opportunities and other partnership opportunities. This allows for everyone in the collaboration to ensure all resources are utilized to successfully meet the research mission. Our unique and holistic approach to talent acquisition and talent management as well as our ability to access, manage, and scale staff has allowed ARL to be agile and meet seasonal demands and financial constraints as needed. A true testament to the success of our partnership is the fact that it has expands to other ARL divisions and staff in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Maryland.

ORAU has also utilized corporate resources to assist in maintaining ARL’s research capabilities. Post-docs who are providing specific skills critical to research can lose sponsorship, face the end of a period of performance, or numerous other obstacles to maintaining employment. ORAU has utilized our vast network to find alternatives, even when the resource isn’t associated with ORAU. Most recently, ORAU partnered with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to provide a post-doctoral student supporting ARL new funding. What was ORAU’s motivation? To provide outstanding service to ARL and keep the team, ORAU and ARL, positioned to hire the student as an employee should the opportunity arise. A successful partnership means we are all successful and maintain the best staffing pool possible.

For almost 50 years ORAU has assisted ARL in support of air quality and climate-related research and with the development and maintenance of the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) to accurately estimate continental U.S. trends in temperature and precipitation. It’s a partnership based on the foundation that each other’s success is our success, and we can go further together.