THE LEGACY AND EFFICACY OF THE CIMSS STUDENT WORKSHOP

The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) in Madison Wisconsin celebrated the 20th anniversary of a Student Workshop in Atmospheric, Satellite, and Earth Sciences this year. (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/studentworkshop/) This week-long event for high school students was started in 1991 by CIMSS scientists who wanted to share the excitement of science and technology with the precollege community. With staffing support from NOAA scientists and facility space provided by the UW-Madison Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences department, traditional themes include satellite remote sensing, weather forecasting and climate change. There is also a strong emphasis on the connection between geology and meteorology with a full-day field trip to nearby sites that include exceptional outcrops of Precambrian quartzite, glacial landforms and tectonic features. During the field investigation, students also explore evidence of early Paleozoic tropical storm events preserved in the rock record.

This session will provide a visual tour of the week's agenda while highlighting historical milestones, evaluation results, and the decison to segway from being a grant supported event to a more fiscally self-sustaining program. We will also look at a few college and career trajectories that some of the students took following participation in the workshop. Not surprisingly, many of these students are working in Earth Science professions influenced by this popular and proven pipeline to the scientific community.