The University of Oklahoma (OU) has a decades-long partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is critical to the Oklahoma economy and the nation’s weather readiness. NOAA support now accounts for roughly 20% of OU’s research funding, reflecting Oklahoma’s place as the #1 university for academic radar and weather research.
This collaboration has resulted in:
NOAA investments at OU directly inject tens of millions of dollars into the Oklahoma economy each year, supporting hundreds of high-quality jobs. A summary of this impact includes:
Totaling $274 Million
Totaling $350 Million
Annual Average
Direct
Approx. percentage of total OU Norman Research Funding
In Norman alone, not including a wide range of companies that have chosen to locate their businesses in the state due to proximity to this highly trained workforce and R&D pipeline, over 900 well-paid jobs are tied to NOAA and weather research activities. This includes OU research faculty, students, and federal scientists at NOAA facilities on campus. Those employees live, spend, and pay taxes in Oklahoma, boosting the local economy.
Moreover, each research dollar has a multiplier effect: analyses show that a $10 million university program can generate approximately 240 total jobs in a region (direct, indirect, and induced employment). By that estimate, NOAA’s $28 million in annual research spending at OU helps sustain well over 600 additional jobs across the state’s economy on top of the 900 direct positions.
Beyond local economics, NOAA-funded research at OU yields life-saving improvements in weather forecasting and preparedness for the country. Oklahoma sits in the heart of “Tornado Alley,” making OU an ideal proving ground for severe storm research. NOAA’s investments leverage this expertise to improve forecasts and warning systems nationwide. Improving severe weather forecasting is one of NOAA’s top strategic priorities, and that mission is directly advanced by collaborative research at OU.
Over the past five years, NOAA-funded teams at OU have achieved cutting-edge advances that make our communities safer. For example:
In this NOAA-OUinstitute, CIWRO researchers work with NOAA’s National Weather Service to develop improved forecast models and warning tools that transition directly into operational use. The goal is to increase warning lead times and accuracy for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods, and more – ultimately saving lives and reducing property damage.
In 2023, OU’s Advanced Radar Research Center, with NOAA’s support from NSSL, deployed Horus, an all-digital, polarimetric phased-array radar. The Horus project exemplifies how NOAA’s investment in OU yields technological innovation with broad impact, paving the way for next-generation radar systems that will improve weather forecasts across the country.
NOAA has funded OU researchers to lead and participate in extensive field experiments targeting some of America’s most dangerous storms. In practical terms, research from OU and NOAA is leading to better tornado warnings with longer lead times and more effective risk communication. National average tornado warning lead-times have improved to around 15 minutes today (up from just 3 minutes in the early 1980s), thanks mainly to decades of research advances in radar and forecasting. Every additional minute of warning gives the public more time to seek shelter, directly translating to lives saved. This dramatic improvement, fivefold in lead time, highlights how sustained NOAA-funded research at OU has strengthened public safety.
NOAA-supported research at OU benefits government forecasting and drives technology and knowledge that flow into private-sector industries such as aerospace, insurance, energy, and beyond. The OU–NOAA partnership has made Norman a hotbed of weather innovation, and those innovations have broad economic and commercial impacts:
Airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and aerospace companies depend on accurate weather data for flight safety and efficient operations. By investing in next-generation weather monitoring systems at OU, NOAA is fueling advances that the aviation industry will leverage to improve safety and save costs.
The insurance industry closely monitors severe weather risk, from hailstorms that damage roofs to floods and tornadoes that impact communities. Research breakthroughs at OU contribute to better risk models and mitigation strategies. Moreover, improved warning lead times and forecast accuracy directly reduce property losses by giving people and businesses more time to secure assets and avoid damage. This federal research investment yields private-sector economic benefits through reduced losses and more resilient communities.
Energy companies (from electric utilities to oil & gas to renewables) are highly sensitive to weather. NOAA’s collaboration with OU has driven innovation in forecasting extreme weather events from weekly to seasonal timescales, helping the energy sector prepare for severe weather events. By enabling more reliable and longer-range weather forecasts, NOAA-supported science at OU reduces operational uncertainties for the energy industry.
In summary, the NOAA-OU partnership acts as an innovation engine whose outputs are adopted well beyond academia. From next-gen radar hardware to improved forecast algorithms, many products of this collaboration support private companies and inform industry best practices. This technology transfer multiplies the return on federal research dollars.
In an era when weather events can cause billions in economic losses, continued investment in research and innovation at OU is a wise financial strategy that benefits both the public and private sectors.
OU’s proven track record of translating federal research funding into impactful results is underpinning all the above benefits. By every measure, OU has demonstrated national leadership in atmospheric science – a testament to its efficient and effective use of NOAA funds:
OU is ranked #1 in the nation for total federal research expenditures in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, according to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research & Development annual assessment. OU has held this #1 spot since 2019, outpacing the next-highest university by as much as 33% in R&D spending. This reflects the substantial federal support (much of it from NOAA) that OU competently manages in this field. OU is also ranked #8 among all U.S. universities in research funding from the Department of Commerce, which includes NOAA. These rankings signal that OU is a trusted steward of federal research dollars at scale.
OU leverages NOAA funding into high-impact scientific output. In the past five years alone, OU researchers produced 655 NOAA-funded scientific papers, which have been cited over 6,800 times. Over ten years, NOAA-supported work at OU yielded 1,241 publications with 25,291 citations, ranking OU 9th nationally in NOAA-related publication impact. This volume of peer-reviewed research shows that NOAA investments at OU consistently turn into new knowledge and innovations shared with the world. Such productivity per dollar spent underscores OU’s efficiency in using research funds to advance science.
OU has a strong history of successfully executing federally funded projects. In the last decade, OU completed 243 NOAA-funded projects totaling $350 million in value. The university currently manages 73 active NOAA projects worth $247 million. This track record of initiating, managing, and completing hundreds of projects – many in partnership with NOAA’s scientists – demonstrates administrative excellence and accountability. Funds are spent as intended: on cutting-edge research that meets NOAA’s objectives. Notably, NOAA saw such value in OU’s work that it dramatically increased annual funding in recent years (from an average of $5M/year before 2018 to $69M/year after 2018). OU rapidly scaled up to handle this growth, reflecting an ability to absorb and effectively utilize significant increases in funding for the nation’s benefit.
OU excels at turning research funding into human capital for NOAA and the broader weather enterprise. NOAA-funded projects at OU support numerous graduate assistantships and postdoctoral positions, training the next generation of scientists. Students in meteorology, engineering, geography, and related fields work alongside veteran NOAA researchers on real-world problems, gaining invaluable hands-on experience.
Simply put, OU delivers results. It converts federal dollars into research breakthroughs, skilled graduates, and public benefits with exceptional efficiency. NOAA’s choice of OU to host the new $208M CIWRO cooperative institute – one of the most significant awards in OU history – validates the university’s performance. It shows that NOAA entrusts OU with some of its most important research initiatives, confident that the money will yield “profound advancements leading to improved warning systems that will ultimately save lives,” in the words of OU’s president.
