Summer 2007

NSSL Development Lab invites collaboration

NSSL researchers are making the most of a new high-tech lab space at the National Weather Center. Run by NSSL's Warning Research and Development Division, the "NSSL Development Lab" includes four wall-mounted plasma screen displays and enough space for at least 10 workstations. A large round table occupies the middle of the room for lunchtime "brown bag" discussions and other meetings. The new lab invites collaboration.

The new high-tech NSSL Development Lab at the National Weather Center

Researchers, forecasters and developers are using the development lab to evaluate new platforms and techniques in real-time as a team, thanks to modern computing power and greater bandwidth capabilities. Collaboration among these diverse groups provides valuable feedback that can immediately be applied to the research and development process, streamlining technology transfer.

Current projects being evaluated in the lab include a multi-radar/multi-sensor hail algorithm under development. The algorithm is being run continuously using real-time data from over 100 WSR-88D radars and a numerical model. The output from the algorithm can be evaluated whenever storms are occurring anywhere within the 48 contiguous states. NSSL is also working to develop new platforms for phased-array and dual-polarized radars. The workstations in the lab can quickly be adapted for visualization and incorporation of these unique data sources.