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7 Climate Model Development Workforce
Pages 145-152

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From page 145...
... It is difficult to quantify the number of climate model developers in the United States, because a systematic study on the climate modeling workforce has never been done. The committee estimates that the number of full-time employees who work on climate model development is on the order of a few hundred.1 CURRENT CHALLENGES IN THE CLIMATE MODEL DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCE Climate models had their origins in both weather forecast models and very simple models describing the radiative balance of the planet that streamlined representations of the ocean and atmosphere.
From page 146...
... ; • scientists engaged in using the models for well-designed numerical experi ments and conducting extensive diagnostics of the models to better under stand their behavior, ultimately leading both to model products and to scien tific insights that provide the impetus and context for model improvements; • scientists studying the regional details provided by the archived results from global model simulations and related downscaling efforts, and how these vary across various models; • support scientists and programmers to conduct extensive sets of numerical simulations in support of various scientific programs and to ensure their scien tific integrity; • software engineers to create efficient and portable underlying codes, includ ing the development and use of common software infrastructures; • software engineers and scientists to facilitate easy and open access to model output through modern networking technologies; • hardware engineers to maintain the high-end computing facilities that under pin the modeling enterprise; and • climate interpreters to translate climate model output for decision makers.
From page 147...
... ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING A PIPELINE IN CLIMATE MODEL DEVELOPMENT Current Pipeline Workers in climate model development have primarily received postgraduate degrees. In order to maintain a pipeline of human capital to sustain the climate modeling efforts, the United States will need to ensure the current and future availability of fellowship funding for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, including expansion of programs at national laboratories and research facilities.
From page 148...
... awarded over the past decade, showing no increase for the category of "Earth, Atmospheric, and Ocean Sciences." The third panel shows the percentage of females awarded doctorates over the past decade, showing relatively low percentages (less than 50 percent) for several fields related to climate modeling.
From page 149...
... SOURCE: NSF, Division of Science Resources Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey, 2000-2008.
From page 150...
... Climate modeling groups must compete by marketing relatively stable career tracks and the opportunity for stimulating cross-disciplinary interactions with a variety of scientists. A 3  This is a conclusion largely drawn from anecdotal evidence; further quantification is needed to deter mine how pervasive student bias is against tackling model development projects.
From page 151...
... Universities can offer innovative coursework, degree pathways, and research opportunities for students and postdoctoral researchers combining climate and computational science. National laboratories can also host postdoctoral researchers and partner with universities in graduate student training.
From page 152...
... Recommendation 7.1: The United States should attempt to entrain top students into choosing climate model development as a career by providing more graduate and postgraduate training opportunities, enhanced professional recognition and career advancement for participation in climate model development projects, and adequate incentives to attract software engineers who could also choose private-sector careers. Recommendation 7.2: In order to assess future needs on the climate model development workforce, the United States should obtain quantitative information about the workforce needs and required expertise base to support climate modeling.


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