The success of NOAA’s geodetic research activities depends on collaboration and engagements with other experts in geodesy and related fields in academia, industry, and government. Engagement activities include co-authoring peer-review publications, participation in national and international scientific forums, and offering grants for the purpose of carrying out cooperative research. Outcomes from such collaborations can produce new theory and algorithms for positioning and geophysical applications, and better understanding of new emerging techniques. In an effort to increase the academic courses in geodesy within the US, NGS is routinely providing American professional organizations, academic researchers and their students, access to materials and beta versions of its tools and services before an official rollout.
Since the 1990’s there has been a decline in geodetic research and education programs within the US. One of the main factors is the reduction of the U.S. government funding support in academic research and education in geodesy and related fields, such as geomatics, geology, geophysics and other applied Earth System research fields. In 2023, NOAA and three sister agencies established a Geodesy Community of Practice to address the national lack of geodetic expertise and to further strengthen relationships and collaborative efforts between US government agencies. This government working group consists of geoscience researchers from NOAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the US Geological Survey (USGS) and has two main goals: strengthen relationships within the geodesy community and increase the size of the U.S. workforce with geodetic expertise
Read moreNOAA’s National Geodetic Survey has established a new open Geospatial Modeling Grant. This competitive NOAA Grant provides funding opportunities to academic institutes to research and participate in modernizing and improving the modernized National Spatial Reference System, which will be the new US geospatial infrastructure and is scheduled to be released in 2025. The current funding cycle targets include funding opportunities for research, education, and outreach activities.
Read moreNOAA’s National Geodetic Survey is also actively reaching out to educational programs within the United States and its territories with a focus on geodesy, geomatics, geology, and geophysics. Through site visits and virtual meetings, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey meets with researchers and educators to discuss their programs, current research, and any challenges of recruiting students or maintaining faculty in the department. NGS sees the value of creating partnerships, sharing educational resources and geodetic tools/services, and establishing a network of academic partners structured by region to enable collaboration and engagement with local communities and state agencies.
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