Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental SciencesCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder
Hilary Peddicord and Jonathan Joyce, SOS Explorer
in NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory won for their development of the SOS Explorer (SOSx), an adaptation of Science On a Sphere® displayed on flat screens for use in schools and other public venues. Their work, which went above and beyond expectations, involved software development and creation of accompanying educational resources—a package that one journalist lauded as “the ultimate desktop model of Earth.” SOS Explorer “literally puts the world at our fingertips,” the nominators wrote. The interactive system has the potential to ignite interest in the sciences and direct students toward STEM subjects.