The 2009 JCSDA Summer Colloquium on Data Assimilation

Data assimilation lies at the heart of operational numerical weather prediction, and historically much of the relevant research and development work has in fact been undertaken by the operational numerical weather prediction community. However, data assimilation techniques are now much more widely used to support environmental monitoring and prediction applications within a wide range of fields, beyond weather, e.g. climate and air quality. In spite of this fact, university activities in data assimilation remain scarce, and as a result many young scientists embarking on a career in data assimilation are lacking in dedicated training in this challenging and complex field. In order to help address this situation, the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation hosted a two-week Summer Colloquium on Data Assimilation in Stevenson, WA July 7-17, 2009. Over the course of the colloquium, 37 participants – Ph.D. students and early post-doctoral scientists who had been selected on a competitive basis - were provided with a comprehensive overview of the field through a series of lectures given by a roster of world-class scientific experts. In this presentation we will summarize our own experience with this event along with feedback from the participants, and provide some thoughts on how the Joint Center can help further strengthen the training of the next generation of data assimilation practitioners.