ED005-05
Planetary Boundary Layer Workshop in the Time of COVID-19

Monday, 7 December 2020: 05:55
Virtual
David N Whiteman1, Jose D Fuentes2, William Ross Stockwell1, Rosa M Fitzgerald3, Belay Demoz4, Ariel F Stein5, Jeffrey McQueen6, Ricardo Sakai1, Adrian Flores1, Ruben Delgado7, John T Sullivan8, James Boyle9, Charles M Ichoku10, Ryan Auvil9 and David Krask11, (1)Howard University, Washington, DC, United States, (2)Penn State University, Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, University Park, PA, United States, (3)University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, United States, (4)University of Maryland Baltimore County, Department of Physics & JCET, Baltimore, United States, (5)NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, College Park, MD, United States, (6)NOAA College Park, National Weather Service, College Park, MD, United States, (7)Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, United States, (8)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (9)Maryland Department of the Environment, Baltimore, United States, (10)NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (11)Maryland Department of the Environment, Air Monitoring Program, Baltimore, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
We were funded to host a 2-week workshop in the summer of 2020 at the Howard University Beltsville Campus in Beltsville, MD. The workshop was targeted at under-represented students and offered instruction in three tracks: planetary boundary layer modeling, air quality data analysis and instrumentation with plans for significant hands-on experience in the operation of various instruments. Plans were laid and arrangements were completed for travel and lodging for 16 students and two mentors to attend the workshop in the first two weeks of June, 2020. With the onset of the pandemic, the workshop was re-purposed as a fully virtual experience with a 2-week delay to provide additional time for workshop preparation. In early June, our community was in great disruption due to the killing of George Floyd in late May. This disruption made it necessary to delay the start of the workshop again until July 13-24, 2020 when the workshop was finally held as a fully virtual experience.

In this presentation, we will review the activities of the workshop and how it was conducted using an all virtual format. Students’ perceptions of the workshop based on pre- and post-workshop surveys will be discussed. Challenges encountered due to the virtual format will be reviewed and potential solutions offered.

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