Guoqing Ge, a CIRES research scientist at NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory, uses data assimilation, models, and AI to improve weather analyses and forecasts. The most difficult part of his job is maintaining balance, for example, leading research-to-operations efforts while leaving time for other research and publications. Ge is the lead of a team that won a 2026 CIRES Outstanding Performance Award for science service. In another life, he might have been a gymnast — and if he could only have 3 apps on his phone, he would keep Duo Mobile and Google Calendar to stay organized and CU Move to remind him to step away from his desk.

What do you work on at CIRES?

My work focuses on improving NOAA's operational weather analysis and forecasting systems through innovations in data assimilation, numerical modeling, and AI.

What’s the most challenging part of your position?

The most challenging aspect of the job is maintaining the right balance: driving applied Research-to-Operations (R2O) efforts at operational pace while preserving space for deeper scientific inquiry and publication; making the systems meet the rigorous standards of NOAA operations while keeping them flexible enough to serve the broader weather community; expanding system capabilities without compromising the stability and reliability; stretching limited computing resources to meet ever-growing research needs, etc. That balance is difficult to strike, but knowing that this work directly advances NOAA's everyday forecast capabilities — and ultimately helps protect lives and property — makes it genuinely worthwhile.

What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?

I might have been a gymnast. I never had any gymnastics training, but in middle school I happened to try the high bar once and was surprised to find that I could easily do moves like muscle-up, pull-over, and back hip circle. I sometimes wish that talent had been discovered much earlier — who knows, maybe I could have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games as a gymnast. :)

If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?

If I could only keep three apps, I'd go with Duo Mobile, Google Calendar, and CU Move. The first two are basically survival tools for staying employed and on schedule. The third — CU Move — is my little safeguard against becoming someone who only ever sits at a desk. It reminds me to move, which turns out to be harder than it sounds on busy days.

What is something you’re proud of?

I am honored to receive the 2026 CIRES Outstanding Performance Award for leading the development of "an operation-oriented, community-flexible, end-to-end scientific workflow that has significantly accelerated the development of NOAA’s next-generation Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFSv2)". This effort has recently spawned the "ar-workflow" to speed up the development of NOAA's prototype MPAS and JEDI based Atmospheric River Prediction System.