GSL/CIRA’s Jeff Beck receives CIRA Exceptional Service Award

GSL/CIRA researcher Jeff Beck has been honored with a CIRA Exceptional Service Award for his leadership in the development, testing, and support of regional capabilities of NOAA’s numerical weather prediction models.

Jeff has taken multiple leadership roles over the past year to help foster collaboration and community development of the Stand Alone Regional (SAR) FV3 model system. He has become a subject matter expert in both the SAR FV3 underlying design and execution and has enabled substantial research and development to improve the model system performance. His collaborations with many scientists across laboratories facilitate research, development, and engagement to advance the progress of SAR FV3 testing towards a future operational implementation within NOAA.

Jeff also led efforts to test a hybrid vertical coordinate system that was operationally implemented in the RAP/HRRR model systems in 2018 with noted improvement in forecasts of flow over and near complex terrain. It is through Jeff’s leadership and development efforts that GSL has been able to start the transition from the current regional model systems including the Rapid Refresh (RAP) and the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) towards the UFS Short Range Weather/Convection Allowing Model (SRW/CAM) regional application known as the Rapid Refresh Forecast System.

We thank Jeff for his tireless work and leadership and congratulate him on this award!