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NCAR TECHNICAL NOTE September 1972

Programmer Training for Young Scientists - A Case Study iG2.,

Jeanne C. Adams

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-FACILITIES LABORATORY NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH BOULDER, COLORADO

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1

INTRODUCTION

Each summer since 1966 the NCAR Computing Facility has conducted a Summer Fellowship Program to provide on-the-job training in computer programming and research for graduate students in the atmospheric sciences.

The goal of the program is to acquaint participants with NCAR

and to stimulate them to learn about atmospheric research, the research tools available in their fields, and the ways in which scientists pursue research activities.

A summer spent at the Mesa Laboratory is bene-

ficial and enjoyable for both the students and the permanent NCAR staff. The contacts are refreshing and interesting, and they bring new ideas about research projects into the Facility from a variety of academic institutions, We wondered whether general trends or patterns had evolved during the first six summer programs and what the participants were like collectively.

What would be shown by a review of their ages and educational

backgrounds, and their activities during and following their stays at NCAR? We sent the participants questionnaires in order to follow up their academic work and career interests in relation to the fellowship program goals.

Information about the participants and their professional prog-

ress was compiled from the questionnaires, as well as from the original applications for the program and other NCAR records.

Forty-six of the

51 questionnaires were returned. This report is a descriptive survey of questionnaire results.

It

discusses the fellowship program, the students who attended from 1966 through 1971, and the subsequent academic progress, computer activities, research plans, and career goals of the participants.

2

THE NCAR COMPUTING FACILITY SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

A fellowship program in scientific computing is held each summer for about nine weeks.

Eight or nine graduate students from as many

universities attend; their interests are primarily in the atmospheric sciences.

The program brings young scientists into a basic research

organization, away from an academic environment, and gives them an opportunity to participate in actual research activities current in the field.

The program is work-oriented and provides on-the-job training at

each participant's skill level. The first two weeks are spent in an intensive review of basic programming techniques using the NCAR Control Data 6600 and 7600 computers. Participation is self-directed and oriented to the individual needs of each participant.

A responsive and encouraging environment is provided,

so that the student can learn about computer activities in an experimental way. 1

Computer topics vary from summer to summer depending on

the backgrounds and interests of the participants.

For the past two

summers, efficient code was discussed in detail, and the writing of machine-dependent code was presented to emphasize the relevant questions in moving a program from machine to machine. Following the intensive training, each participant began his summer research with an NCAR scientist.

At this point in

the program, seminar

series were started on large-problem design for problems not corecontained and on simulation models currently used at NCAR.

The program has been described in some detail in previous articles. See Adams, J., 1967: Teaching scientific programming assisted by the computer. Computers and Automation, March, 20-22; and Adams, J., and L. Cohen, 1969: Time-sharing vs. instant batch processing: an experiment in programmer training. Computers and Automation, March, 30-34.

3

BACKGROUND OF THE PARTICIPANTS

The eight to nine participants who attended the fellowship program each year were selected by a committee at NCAR from among 35-55 applicants; prior recommendation by the departmental chairman of the home university was required and applicants whose interests were in atmospheric science were favored.

Most applicants had already chosen their

major fields and had grade-point averages in their major fields greater than 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.

The participants were in their twenties, and

only one had not finished undergraduate training.

Eight had bachelor's

degrees but no graduate training, and eighteen had master's degrees. One participant had completed a Ph.D. in chemistry, but was changing her field to atmospheric science for another advanced degree.

There were

few female applicants; only three of the 51 participants were women. Table 1 summarizes the degree statuses of the students when they started the program.

Table 1 LEVELS OF TRAINING AT THE START OF THE PROGRAM

Academic Training

Number of Participants (Respondents)

High School + 3 years

1

Engineering Degree

1

Bachelor's Degree f "i + 1 year It I" + 2 years it " + 3 years " " ++ 4 years

7 10 5 1 2

1 2 2

25 Master's Degree 1 " " + 1 year " " 4+2 years n "1 " + 3 years u

"

"

+ 4 years

Number of Participants (Non-respondents)

5

4 2 8 1 3

18 Ph.D. TOTALS

1 46

5

Most participants were able to program to some extent before they came to NCAR.

Only two had never written Fortran programs.

Over the

six years since the training program started, the number of Fortran programs the participants had written before coming to NCAR has increased.

The universities increasingly encourage undergraduate students

(especially physical science majors) to take courses in programming early in their school curricula.

As a consequence, the material we

present to them has changed to include more advanced programming techniques related to the development of large-scale simulation models on a computer.

5

COMPUTER ACTIVITIES DURING THE PROGRAM

Each participant worked on a research project for an NCAR scientist. At least 50 NCAR scientists have participated in the program, giving Several scientists have also given a lecture

guidance to the students. each summer.

The projects brought the participants in contact with

working research teams at NCAR and at the same time gave them complete access to Computing Facility staff for assistance with the computing The participants wrote programs for actual

aspects of the projects.

problems currently being investigated at NCAR, and thus effectively received on-the-job training during this phase of the program. Each participant wrote a paper describing his research activities with an NCAR scientist.

These papers were presented in

Students' Sum-

mary Reports, Fellowship in Scientific Computing, published by the Computing Facility each year.

The reports are available from 1967 through

1971; total attendance during these five summers was 43, and the total number of papers was 44.

The problems were quite varied.

Some of the

topics from summer 1971 were: *

Atmospheric Diffusion for the Moderate Unstable Boundary Layer

*

Parameterization of Cumulus Convection for the NCAR Global Circulation Model

*

A Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Horizontal Shear Flow on the Propagation of Gravity-Inertia Waves in a Barotropic Fluid

*

The Applicability of the NCAR Lake Ontario Model to Mesoscale Lake Breeze and Heat Island Studies

Table 2 summarizes the topics by year and general category.

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Table 2 RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS

Number of Participant Papers by Program Year 1967 Atmospheric dynamics General circulation model Dynamics Turbulence Synoptics Convection

1968

1 1

1969

3

Atmospheric physics Cloud physics

1

1

3

Solar physics

2

2

1

Oceanography

2

1

1

Numerical techniques

3

1

TOTAL

2 2 1

1

Atmospheric chemistry

Graphic techniques

1970

1

1971 2 1 2 1 1

Total 4 7 4 2 1

1

1

1

6 1

6

1

1

6

1

1

6 1 44

7

COMPUTER ACTIVITIES AT NCAR FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM

Following the program, participants continued to use the computer, both at NCAR and at other institutions where they worked or studied. Eighteen of the 46 who responded to the questionnaire had returned Thirteen of

to NCAR to continue their research in various capacities.

these 18 used the computer to do master's or Ph.D. thesis work.

Five of

the 18, including two from the group who did thesis work, returned in some formal connection with NCAR--as UCAR fellows, scientists, or shortterm programmers for scientific groups.

One participant returned to do

work on a project for his university professor. All six program years were represented by the 18 who returned.

Five

returned from the 1969 class, four from 1967, three from 1970, and two each from 1966, 1968, and 1971.

Several others have applied for com-

puter time to be used in the near future. Some participants returned more than once or developed continuing associations.

The heaviest frequency of visits of returnees from all

years has been from 1970 to the present. at NCAR at least once during this time.

Sixteen of the 18 have been The Computing Facility has

always encouraged non-NCAR use of the computers, but in recent years a heavier emphasis has been given to assisting and encouraging the users. Increased frequency of return by the summer students may be the result of this trend.

NCAR's growing reputation as a national facility for

research projects in the atmospheric sciences may also be responsible for the increased number of Computing Facility visitors.

Some partici-

pants have also returned informally or to attend conferences. Thesis topics brought here have varied from large-scale simulation models to analysis of data from aircraft flights.

One model was a simu-

lation of the local surface energy balance and subsurface temperature regime in Antarctica. action.

Another was a study of cumulus mesoscale inter-

Two oceanographic models were studied; one was a sea-breeze

study and the other a sliced-cylinder, Beta-plane, ocean circulation model.

Turbulence flux calculations were also carried out.

Several of

the participants used data from instruments aboard the NCAR Buffalo aircraft for their research.

8

COMPUTER ACTIVITIES NOT AT NCAR

Forty-three of the 46 continued their research using a computer. Only 2 of these 43 continued to use only the NCAR computers.

Of the

three who no longer use any computer, one, from the 1971 program, has merely lacked the opportunity.

Another is working in a field that does

not involve computer research, but plans to return to graduate school in meteorology. Many participants replied that they have had experience on more than one computer since their NCAR experience; most computers listed were medium- to large-scale machines.

Twenty-three of the 46 have worked

on other Control Data machines, and many have also used IBM and UNIVAC equipment. Knowledge of large-scale computers is very important in meteorology. The computer allows researchers to attack problems of greater complexity and to undertake projects that would often be impossible without a large computer.

Participants would be increasingly less able to continue

their studies without computer expertise, so it is not surprising that most of them have continued their computer activities.

9

ACADEMIC PROGRESS SINCE SUMMER AT NCAR

Many participants from earlier programs have now completed advanced degrees, while those from more recent programs are still working toward completion of degree requirements.

Thirty-one of the 49 for whom infor-

mation was available have earned advanced degrees. ported no change in

degree status,

15 are still

in work leading to advanced degrees.

Of the 18 who re-

at universities,

engaged

Table 3 summarizes their most

recent degree statuses or degrees expected in

1972.

Table 3 DEGREE STATUS IN 1972

Class Year

Number of Participants

1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971

7 8 9 9 8 8

2 3 6 7

49

18

TOTAL

No Change

UG to MS

BS/BA to MS

BS/BA to PhD

2

3 61 2 11 1

1 3 4 1

MA to PhD

PhD Chemistry to MS Meteorology

2 2

1 1

10

13

6

1

Summary

Many participants

Ph.D. by 1972 Master's by 1972 No change in status

20 11 18

TOTAL

49

(24 of the 46)

are still

in

school.

Twenty-one

have research assistantships or associateships while they continue their education.

All but one have continued in

summarizes their current positions.

their professions.

Table 4

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Table 4 PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS IN 1972

College professor Professional research position Student research assistant Army or Navy meteorologist Full-time student Other

7 12 21 2 3 1

TOTAL

46

Most of the participants are currently engaged in research at their universities or in primary research organizations, yet a great many of them expressed an interest in teaching "sometime." 22 not in school are college professors.

Only 7 of the

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CHANGES IN RESEARCH GOALS

In addition to other qualifications, candidates for the fellowship program are selected on the basis of some interest in the research conducted at NCAR.

Four of the 46 who responded said that they had changed

their goals in a major way as a result of participation in the program. They switched to meteorology from oceanography, mathematics, or general physics.

One said that because of the program, he will stay in the

natural sciences.

Twelve, whose goals were already firmly established,

replied that they had not been influenced. Twenty-six of the 46 said that their goals had been strengthened by contacts and associations initiated at NCAR during the summer program. In general, these participants acquired renewed enthusiasm for research and a broader view of scientific research.

The flavor of their comments

is apparent in some of the following excerpts from the questionnaires: *

"The program made it more clear to me than ever that my career goal is to be a scientist. I understand more clearly now what science, particularly research, involves; its demands and its rewards."

*

"Reaffirmed I made the correct career decisions."

*

"Broadened my outlook in field of meteorology."

*

"My current position, a postdoctoral at GFDL, is directly concerned with computing problems. [The program] encouraged me to continue with meteorological problems that led to this job."

*

"It was the first real introduction I had had into the various fields of research in meteorology other than in classrooms. The project I worked on during [the summer at NCAR] affected the choice of my thesis topic." Some participants felt that the change away from academic learning

during the summer was beneficial. *

They said:

"It has not changed my career goals . . . but made it easier to

attain them. Specifically, it was simply a much more efficient learning situation than I could have gotten at a university." ·

"My participation was easily the most valuable nonformal academic training that I have ever received."

*

"The summer experience at NCAR was one of the finest of my academic life."

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Table 5 CHANGES IN CAREER GOALS

Number of Participants Goals changed Goals not changed Goals strengthened No response

4 13 26 3

TOTAL

46

Half of the participants expect the computer to be a tool in their future research.

Their experience in the Computing Facility enabled

them to carry out the computational aspects of graduate research projects more easily.

Often they acquired the confidence they needed to

use numerical modeling as a technique in solving problems so that it expanded the kinds of problems they felt capable of solving.

It also gave

them more interest in and appreciation of computer solutions to research problems, in contrast to analytic solutions.

Some remarks from the

questionnaires: *

"Enabled me to do the computational aspects of my graduate research projects."

*

"[Created] a greater willingness to engage in scientific research requiring numerical modeling."

*

"Interested me in numerical modeling, particularly the general circulation model." ". . . gave me more confidence in computer programming."

*

". . . gave me greater insight into how problems are posed and how the calculations for their solution are actually carried out." Forty-four of the 46 mentioned the computer or programming when

asked if the summer program contributed in any way to their careers. This was expected since the program's main emphasis is the use of the computer in scientific research.

Their comments were very favorable and

emphasized their new programming skills with large problems to be designed for a large computer system.

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In addition to questions on contributions to their careers and changes in career goals, there was an open-ended question asking for comments. questions.

A general theme ran through the responses to these three Participants liked the on-the-job training aspects of the

summer program.

The flavor and atmosphere of a large basic research

organization are different from a large university with many graduate programs in different disciplines.

The participants appreciated the

flexibility of their schedules and the opportunity to interact with many scientists actively engaged in research; they liked being a part of the current research programs at NCAR.

A large number of participants

noted that they had enjoyed spending a summer with students from a variety of graduate departments around the country.

Thus, the experience

provided them with a refreshing and broadening change of scene, organization, and peer group.

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CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

We wanted to find out what kinds of research the participants had conducted since the summer program and what they planned to do in the future.

In describing their research plans and activities, 45 partici-

pants outlined 73 projects.

Our classification of these activities is

somewhat arbitrary, but follows the outlines of the laboratory programs at NCAR.

In Table 6 the numbers of participants and projects are listed

for each general area of research.

A participant placed in one area may

have done research in another area as well.

Table 6 AREAS OF CURRENT RESEARCH

Number of Projects Atmospheric dynamics General circulation model Dynamics Turbulence Synoptic meteorology Convection

12 15 5 6 5

Thunderstorm measurement

8

TOTALS

30 2

5

3

5 3

11 5

Solar physics Other Oceanography Graphical techniques Disaster preparedness Industrial location analysis

7 13 2 5 3 43 2

Atmospheric chemistry Atmospheric physics Cloud physics

Number of Participants

3 7 1 1

2 2 1 12

5

73

45*

*One participant gave no answer to this question.

15

Forty-three of the 73 projects mentioned were in the general area of atmospheric dynamics, and 30 of the 45 participants who answered that question were themselves primarily interested in dynamics.

If both

general circulation and dynamics problems are separated from turbulence, synoptics, and convection problems, there were 27 projects specifically concerned with dynamics and large-scale atmospheric models.

The next

largest group (8 projects) was in the area of cloud physics. Twenty-four of the 45 participants had used computer models to solve their research problems.

Three of the dynamics projects involved

spectral rather than finite difference techniques. Comparison of Table 6 with Table 2 shows that about three-fourths of the participants are doing their current research in dynamics, while less than half wrote papers in dynamics when at NCAR for the summer program.

However, the number of participant papers each summer tended

increasingly toward research with the NCAR dynamics group, and in 1969 the program introduced seminar series on large-scale program design and on simulation models.

Students interested in large problems concerning

dynamics may have been more likely to apply for the program because of these seminars, which were announced in the call for applicants.

16

CONCLUSIONS

This study is intended as a limited descriptive account of the Computing Facility Summer Fellowship Program in relation to the subsequent professional activities of the participants.

It would be neces-

sary to conduct a comparable study of a control group who did not have the summer program experience in order to draw conclusions about participants' later research and careers.

Any assumption of causality would

be hard to justify even with a control group. Nevertheless, the students did provide an evaluation of the influence the summer program experience had.

Most had already decided to

be atmospheric scientists and the program simply gave them added means-primarily computer methods--for pursuing their goals. The subsequent research interests of the participants have leaned strongly toward dynamics.

This trend may indicate that the program

experience, including the seminars and work with NCAR scientists, stimulated interest in dynamics.

Such an interpretation is only specu-

lative since the current research interests of the participants are strongly influenced by the research emphases of their present institutions and by the available opportunities to do various kinds of research. We feel that an important aspect of the program is to provide a research environment for young scientists where they can engage in an apprenticeship with a working scientist.

That the learning experience

at NCAR was different from the academic environment and yet educational as well was fully substantiated by the participants' responses.