UCAR is a nonprofit corporation formed in 1959 by research institutions with doctoral programs in the atmospheric and related sciences. UCAR was formed to support and enhance the computing and observational capabilities of the universities, and to understand the behavior of the atmosphere and related systems and the global environment.

Representatives from UCAR's 68 Member and 20 Academic Affiliate institutions govern UCAR research and Service activities through the Board of Trustees, Member committees and a number of advisory committees.

UCAR carries out its mission through two organizations: The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the UCAR Office of programs (UOP).

NCAR maintains resources such as state-of-the-art weather and climate computer models, radars, and aircraft that are used by research scientists around the world; the areas of scientific research extend from the center of the earth to the center of the sun.

The UCAR Office of programs supplies real-time weather data to colleges and universities for use in the classroom, trains weather forecasters in the latest research results and technologies, and helps organize international experiments in remote areas of the world, among other services.

The principal sponsor is the National Science Foundation (NSF); funds also come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies and organizations. NCAR is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center sponsored by NSF.

For further information please visit the UCAR Web site-www.ucar.edu.