OTHER
MEETINGS

For The Meeting on Thursday, October 18, 2007, the presentation will be given by:

Christoph A. Vogel, Ph.D.
Of: NOAA Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division

On: Research at NOAA's Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (Oak Ridge, TN), and methodologies for the collection and analyses of atmospheric data.

Dr. Vogel will give a presentation on the type of work that they do at the laboratory, and how PC's fit in in both data acquisition and data analyses, the type of programming we do, the type of software that we use.

The Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (ATDD) is one of several field divisions of NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory, headquartered in Silver Spring, MD (see Division Hierarchy). ATDD began as a Weather Bureau Special Projects research office established in 1948 under Atomic Energy Commission sponsorship in Oak Ridge, TN, and still serves as a source of meteorological information and expertise for the U. S. Department of Energy and its contractors in Oak Ridge. However, ATDD's main function is to perform air quality-related research directed toward issues of national and global importance. Emphasis is on the lower atmosphere.

Their objectives are to develop better methods for predicting transport, dispersion, and air-surface exchange of air pollutants; to extend the applicability of these methods to increasingly realistic situations including nighttime cases, complex terrain, and non-uniform surfaces; and to test the methods against data to determine the confidence limits and uncertainties which apply.

ATDD has a permanent staff of 30, including thirteen scientists, eight engineers, six scientific and technical support staff, and three administrative support staff. We frequently host graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and international visitors for varying intervals. Research is performed with the aid of personnel of the Radiological Safety, Assessment, and Training Division of Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), and in close collaboration with scientists and engineers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and numerous other organizations, government agencies, universities, and private research institutions.

ATDD is located at 456 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with a permanent research station about five miles away, within Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Walker Branch Watershed forested experimental area. Important on-site facilities include a wind tunnel laboratory, machine shop, electronics lab, and chemical instruments lab (all with design and fabrication capabilities), and a specialized library.

Chris Vogel received his Ph.D. in 1992 in Atmospheric Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. A list of his publications can be found at http://www.atdd.noaa.gov/Personnel/cavogel.htm. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union.

As usual, we will have a time for your personal questions, and we may need a few minutes to talk about the business of the ORPCUG. Remember, nominations are now being requested for the names of officers for the coming year. You may volunteer or give your recommendations, but check with those you recommend about their willingness to serve.

DEADLINE: To register for the Annual APCUG Meeting at $100 is November 1. The registration form and information about hotel reservations are online at http://www.apcug.org.