Who We Are

I have a very strong feeling that science exists to serve human betterment and improve human welfare.

-Walter Orr Roberts, founding president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and the first director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

The Research Applications Laboratory (RAL) is a world leader in community-driven, end-to-end research. We continually expand the reach of actionable Earth system sciences, and apply our discoveries to solving problems that impact society. Achieving this requires the leadership, inspiration, and diversity of talent to work in a multidisciplinary way with collaborators and stakeholders, building strategic partnerships that flourish well into the future. Just as important as our technology development is our reputation for transferring solutions to society for deployment. This distinction underpins the robust convergent and actionable science we study and deliver.