Welcome to the Penn State Center for Earth System Modeling, Analysis, and Data (ESMAD).
VISION
The Penn State Center for Earth System Modeling, Analysis, and Data will be the locus for climate and weather risk research and assessments across the University. The Center will build collaboration between multiple disciplines and foster interaction between the Penn State research community and internal and external decision-makers and stakeholders.
MISSION
The Penn State Center for Earth System Modeling, Analysis, and Data will be squarely focused on supporting Penn State’s third strategic priority of “Stewarding our Planet’s resources” by helping researchers select the best climate data, models, and analytics for their research. This will be accomplished by developing analytic and numerical methods, sharing data, and expanding cross-domain capabilities and expertise in Earth System Modeling. The center will leverage the Penn State climate research efforts occurring across multiple academic areas by assisting in the identification and execution of classes of climate problems with medium to long-term development timeframes and high stakeholder benefit, that also:
1. Support the University’s educational goals for graduate students and post-doctoral scholars,
2. Support the University’s applied research initiatives, and
3. Enhance the University’s service to society.
To accomplish this mission the center will perform three major functions:
1. Catalog existing and develop new analytic tools to support interdisciplinary research,
2. Provide easier access to climate data, and,
3. Provide access to, develop new, and extend the capabilities of Earth System Models.
As part of Penn State’s strategic priority of “Stewarding our Planet’s resources,” we have the goal of becoming “a leader in creating comprehensive solutions to mitigate the dangers of climate change.” To accomplish this, researchers across the University must cross disciplinary domains and use appropriate climate data and analysis technics developed within the domain of basic climate research. The Center for Earth System Modeling, Analysis, and Data supports more effective inter-disciplinary research to identify and use the vetted approaches from the weather and climate science community, and thus improve cross domain knowledge sharing within the University (see figure).
