CIRES and the University of Colorado at Boulder

CIRES was created in 1967 as a cooperative institute between the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [ About NOAA ] . This partnership fosters fundamental and applied research in disciplines ranging from the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere to the oceans, hydrosphere and cryosphere. It provides the NOAA laboratories with access to university intellectual depth and resources while providing students with direct experience in operational research. It enables both to synergistically address complex and highly integrated issues in a comprehensive manner and provide scientific understanding in a context of societal relevance.

The University of Colorado at Boulder has a history which extends back over 100 years. As home to some 25,000 students during the academic year and with a staff and faculty population of about 4,500, CU-Boulder offers a full range of academic programs. The flagship of the University of Colorado system, which also includes the Universities of Colorado at Denver and Colorado Springs and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (in Denver), CU-Boulder provides a perfect setting for CIRES' interdisciplinary research interests.

Three primary components provide the framework upon which all University activity is based: teaching, research and public service. The fundamental mission of the campus is to provide the best possible education for students by incorporating all three components in achieving this goal.

Approximately 1,500 faculty teach more than 2,500 courses in 150 fields of study in five colleges and five professional schools. Degrees are awarded in 60 academic programs at the bachelor's level, 50 at the master's level, and 40 at the doctoral level, with graduates numbering approximately 6,000 annually. The many honors awarded the CU faculty include memberships in the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering as well as the 1989 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. CU is one of only 30 public universities belonging to the prestigious Association of American Universities.

Outside support for research at CU is vital to its role as a first-class research university. Historically, the total dollar amount of sponsored research expenditures at the Boulder campus has been doubling approximately every six to seven years. During the 2004 fiscal year, the University of Colorado at Boulder received nearly $260 million in sponsored research awards -- nearly 80 percent of it from federal agencies -- setting yet another campus record, according to this news release. The Graduate School and research institutes received more than $130 million, led by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics with more than $41.3 million. CIRES followed closely with $40.3 million.