V-CHILL Radar Operations in Classrooms: Courseware and Research Applications

Historically, the operation of radars has been conducted in the same physical facility housing the radar that was being maneuvered. This has limited the use of this experience to those who have access to physical radar facilities. VCHILL, or the Virtual CHILL system, was developed to transfer the radar operation experience to a remote site via the regular Internet. While this venture originally started as a technology demonstration project, VCHILL has grown significantly in scope and performance over the years. Since the first demonstration of VCHILL technology from Washington, DC about 5 years ago, it has been used in innovative ways for both research and classroom instruction throughout the country, and even the world. Since the novel use of VCHILL to provide a tour of live radar operations to an atmospheric science class held at the University of Washington, remote live tours to universities have become a common occurrence. During past radar conferences, VCHILL has also been used very successfully as an educational tool for the practitioners within the "Broadcast Meteorology Community." Extensive VCHILL "courseware" has now been developed that has been used by faculty for instructional purposes at educational institutions nationwide. This paper summarizes the various aspects of VCHILL that have developed over the years and how they have provided greatly expanded access to radar operation.