Adventures in technology transfer

The FAA's Aviation Weather Research Program (AWRP) has been in place since the mid 1990s. The goal of this program is to provide aviation weather hazard products suitable for a variety of users – from meteorologists who use them as ingredients for more applied versions of diagnoses and warnings to the pilot who views graphical products in the cockpit of an airplane. AWRP activities extend from focused research conducted at national laboratories and universities, to algorithm development for specific aviation weather hazards, through implementation on operational platforms including approval processes. This talk will discuss experiences of and interactions between one of the research organizations, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and an operational provider, NOAA's Aviation Weather Center. Lessons learned from specific technology transfer activities, particularly inflight icing and turbulence products, will be presented. Recommendations for similar future interactions between research and operations will also be discussed.