DOC; Mountain Administrative Support Center; Acquisition = Management Division; 325 Broadway MC3; Boulder, CO 80303-3328

A -- 96ADVANCED WEATHER FORECASTING SYSTEMS POC Dr. Michael Kraus, (303) 497-5200 E-MAIL: NOAA; MASC Acquisitions Management, Brenda.S.Summers@noaa.gov. The Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) of the National Oceanic and = Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is actively seeking a Cooperative Research and = Development Agreement (CRADA) partner for the further development and = commercialization of an advanced weather forecasting system known as WFO-Advanced. The = WFO-Advanced system provides operational, interactive data display and manipulation capabilities in = a distributed workstation environment, which includes a number of = associated data distribution and networking technologies. These technologies were built = to satisfy the requirements of operational National Weather Service forecasters. = Using direct forecaster feedback and expert guidance, these systems are designed to = provide a comprehensive set of tools to the operational weather forecaster and = weather end-user. The system is built using open systems technology. The = hardware platform includes PCs, Hewlett Packard (HP) display workstations and HP data = servers. The software platform utilizes UNIX, DOS, and Windows NT operating systems; = ANSI C, Object Oriented C++, Fortran, and Java programming languages, Informix = and lab-developed data handling applications. The system ingests numerical = weather prediction model data, sensor observations, satellite data, and = national radar data from a Satellite Broadcast Network. Local sensor data, such as local = NEXRAD radar data, is also ingested. Operational forecasters currently use the = system. FSL is interested in working with one or more commercial entities, under the = auspices of the Federal Technology Transfer Act, to transfer this technology to the = private sector. An ideal research and development effort would add = capabilities to the workstation system that provide user-capabilities such as a world-wide = relocatable display database, a global high-resolution Geographic Information = System, and oceanographic data bases and display functions. It is believed that = these added capabilities would make WFO-Advanced commercially viable to a global = community. FSL will negotiate royalties and licenses for any of the technologies = arising from the CRADA partnership. Interested companies should be willing to locate = one or more employees in Boulder, Colorado for a period of 1-2 years, to work with = FSL. In addition to assisting in research and development the CRADA partner = will be responsible for documenting, distributing, marketing, maintaining, and providing user = support for the software. A Technology Information meeting will be held at the = NOAA/FSL site in Boulder, on March 12, 1999. The meeting will include presentations, = demonstrations and discussions to provide specifics on the technology to be utilized in the CRADA. Once this = meeting has taken place, a proposal containing a brief business plan must be = submitted by those wishing to be considered as a potential CRADA partner. Partner = selection criteria will include technical expertise and experience with similar = technologies, experience marketing similar technologies, past CRADA partnership = experience, and resources available to FSL through the CRADA, such as funding and other = resources. This process allows for possible selection of more than one partner. = Parties interested in participating in this process should contact Dr. Michael = Kraus, (303) 497-5200; For additional information about the WFO-Advanced system go to the = WFO-Advanced web site at: http://www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/~jwake/WFO-A-intro.html Posted 02/17/99 (D-SN299166). (0048)

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