Summary

Careers in Science (CiS) is a targeted education and outreach program planned for 2010 & 2011 that exposes students from accredited postsecondary minority institutions to career opportunities within the areas of science and science support. Multi-day visits are conducted to campuses in the east and southeast of the United States to meet with small groups of students who are interested in science and technology and to expose them to field campaigns, observing facilities and various job categories that are needed to successfully conduct research. The visits will be accompanied by one of the Doppler on Wheels for hands-on demonstrations and data collection.

The Careers in Science team visited three colleges in the greater Chicago area during a three-day period from 27-29 October 2010. The objective of the event was to visit several minority institutions in the area to provide information about and encourage students to enter various careers in atmospheric sciences. During each visit we showcased a variety of jobs that are essential to support field campaigns, illustrated the nature of field campaigns by using VORTEX II as an example, and provided hands-on demonstrations of the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) after the initial presentation and discussion. 

Each of the three schools was different with respect to their familiarity with atmospheric sciences and the departmental support we received. The schools covered ranged from a 2 year college to a 4 year college; private college to a community college; a school with a well developed meteorology program to a school with only an introductory class to a community college with no meteorology classes. Only one school already had a working relationship with a university with a strong atmospheric science program. Read the complete CiS 1 Final Report.