Neil Fox, associate professor of atmospheric sciences, teaches a couple classes where students use and study weather radar.
Those classes are about to get a whole lot more interesting.
A new Doppler weather radar was installed in late June at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ Jefferson Farm and Garden.
The radar is owned and operated by MU – and opens several doors for research, hands-on learning and a bevy of other information.
“This will let me use local data, which I control, to show students different information,” Fox said. “This will give the students the opportunity to work directly with a radar, maybe even control it themselves for class or research projects. Normally we get the radar data from another location and study it. This allows us to gather our own data in our area.
“It’s great.”
The radar is part of a National Science Foundation grant. The $20 million grant will fund a five-year project spread across several institutions.
“That grant is looking for connections between climate, plant development and plant performance,” Fox said. “It’s looking to increase understanding and develop strategies.”
Reviewed 2015-08-27