1. Desert Research Institute and Division of Atmospheric Sciences Overview
Dr. Darko Koracin
Research Professor
Division of Atmospheric Sciences
Desert Research Institute,
Nevada System of Higher Education, Reno, Nevada
WIDA Conference
13-15 March 2012
Reno, Nevada

2. Over 50 years of Science, Engineering & Technology
1960: $2.5 Million in Research Funding
2010: ~$55 Million in Research Funding
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

3. Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE)
Board of Regents
Chancellor
System Office
Universities
Community Colleges
State College
Research Institute
UNLV
UNR
CSN
GBC
TMCC
WNC
Nevada State College
DRI
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

4. DRI at a Glance ~558 employees with ~140 research faculty
Non-tenure / soft-money structure:
Faculty are not tenured and generate own salaries (no state-funded positions)
Faculty bring ~$40M into Nevada’s economy!
Direct return on state-funded investment is $5-to-$1
At any given time, DRI conducts about 300 research projects worldwide
Over 60 specialized labs & research facilities to improve people’s lives:
Renewable Energy Center
Ultra-Trace Chemistry Lab
Environmental Analysis Facility
Center for Advanced Computation/Visualization
Ecologically Controlled Enclosed Lysimeter Labs
Computing facility
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

5. Campuses and Facilities
Today, DRI has two primary campuses:
Reno
Las Vegas
with research facilities in:
Boulder City
Steamboat Springs, CO
Stead
Northern Nevada Science Center - Reno
Southern Nevada Science Center – Las Vegas
Storm Peak Laboratory – Steamboat Springs Colorado
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

6. Research Structure Air Land and Life Water DRI Divisions
Hydrological Sciences
Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
Atmospheric Sciences
Integrated Science Centers
Clean Energy and Renewable Technology Center (CTREC)
Center for Watershed Environmental Sustainability (CWES)
Rogers Center for Environmental Remediation and Monitoring (CERM)
Center for Advanced Visualization, Computation, and Modeling (CAVCaM)
Air
Land
and
Life
Water
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

7. Funding
Major sponsors of grants and contracts include federal agencies (DoE, DoD, NSF, DoI, and EPA)
DRI also has state, local, and private grants
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

8. Division of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS)
DRI – Science. Environment. Solutions.
9/17/2018

9. DAS Core Research Areas
Air Quality Field Study Design/Coordination
Develop study plans
Manage field operations
Data compilation
Data quality control/quality assurance
Equipment at Fresno Supersite

10. DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)
Ambient Air Quality Monitoring & Assessment
Sampling for criteria pollutant gases and aerosols
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)
Light absorption, scattering, and extinction
Air quality modeling
Personal exposure assessments
State Implementation Plan (SIP) assistance
Poor and Natural Visibility at the Grand Canyon

11. DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)
Pollutant Emissions Characterization
Real-time and remote measurement of vehicle emissions
Dilution sampling of stationary source emissions
Fugitive dust emissions
Ultra-fine and nanoparticle emissions
Development of emission factors and inventories
Emissions measurement from in-use vehicle

12. DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)
Meteorological Measurements and Modeling
Continuous meteorological parameters (temp., pressure, RH, wind speed/direction)
Atmospheric motions and thermodynamic parameters
Radar and satellite assessments of cloud and precipitation fields
Mesoscale dynamics and modeling
Real time weather and air quality forecasting

13. DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)
Aerosols, Clouds, and Precipitation
Particle size distributions
Cloud droplet formation and evolution
Cloud physics/chemistry
Cloud radiative properties
Impact of aerosols on climate
Probes mounted on NOAA P-3 aircraft

14. DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)
Fire Science
Monthly lightning strikes – July
(data from
Relationships among climate, weather, fire, and natural resources
Operational fire weather forecasting and smoke predictions
Decision-support tools for fire applications
Mass, composition, and effects of fire emissions

15. DAS Core Research Areas (cont.)
Energy-Related Research
Relationships between climate and energy
Wind resource mapping
Environmental impacts of energy productivity, distribution, and use.
Forecasting near-term variations in wind and solar energy resources
Biofuel production and impacts

16. Other DAS Capabilities and Interests
Technology Development and Licensing
Most DAS technologies involve meteorology:
meteorological measurements
emissions/air quality
Modeling and forecasting
Protection and licensing of intellectual property is handled by a joint Technology Transfer Office (TTO) between UNR and DRI
For more information, see:
Hot Plate Precipitation Gauges

17. Other DAS Capabilities and Interests
Two Major Analytical Laboratories
Organic Analytical Lab (OAL)
Environmental Analysis Facility (EAF)
- Labs support internal research programs and provide service to outside sponsors
- Provide chemical analysis of inorganic species, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, hazardous pollutants, etc.

18. Other DAS Capabilities and Interests
Other Laboratories within DAS
Aerosol laboratory
Particulate Emissions Measurement Lab (PEML)
Carter Family Optics and Acoustics Lab
Ice Physics Lab
Atmospheric Remote Sensing Lab
Storm Peak Laboratory
Mesoscale Dynamics and Modeling Lab
Air Quality Modeling Lab
Real-time forecasting
Climate modeling
Energy Laboratory

19. Other DAS Capabilities and Interests
WRCC – (Western Regional Climate Center)
WRCC service region
One of six NOAA-funded regional climate centers
Provides climate information services and conducts climate research
Over 1 million web hits/month (see

20. DRI projects supported by DOD Highlights