The Unidata Users Committee is seeking nominations for a Graduate Student representative to join the group of nine university faculty members currently serving on this committee. Nominees should be Graduate Students who use Unidata software, hold a strong interest in the Unidata program, and have an interest in learning how a community-based program like Unidata is governed. Nominations may be made by any community member, and self-nominations are acceptable. This position will be for a two-year term beginning with the fall 2019 Users Committee meeting.
In addition to bringing a valuable student perspective to Unidata committee discussions, Graduate Student representatives make numerous professional contacts at Unidata and in the university community at large, and gain insights stemming from participation in Unidata program governance. The Unidata Users committee meets twice a year in Boulder, CO; the Unidata Program Center pays all travel and lodging expenses for the student representative's travel to committee meetings.
“Serving on the Unidata Users Committee was an incredible opportunity that I feel very grateful for having been part of,” says Tomer Burg, who has been the Users Committee Graduate Student representative since 2017. “I had known about Unidata beforehand and had used tools associated with Unidata, such as GEMPAK and MetPy, but being on the committee exposed me to the wide range of products that Unidata develops and offers for the community and provided insight on where the field is headed.”
“Being on this committee as a graduate student was especially useful — I came back having learned of new tools that helped my classmates and myself conduct research more efficiently, and gave my classmates a feeling that their voices were being heard and that they can also contribute,” Burg continues. “I have used the information and tools that I learned by serving on the committee to help other people, and I am looking forward to continuing to contribute to the community in the future.”
To nominate a student for this committee position, please send a short (no more than one page in length) description that includes:
- Your contact information (e-mail, phone)
- Student's name, institution, and e-mail address
- Student's discipline and major
- Which Unidata software and tools the student is using
- Evidence of interest and/or willingness to engage in community service
- Explanation of why the student is well suited for participation on the committee
(Note: Nominees may also be asked to provide a letter of recommendation from their graduate advisers.)
Please submit nominations by May 31, 2019 to: nominations@unidata.ucar.edu.
Unidata is a leader in educational software development and data distribution. We rely on input from two governing committees, the Users Committee, which is charged with providing feedback from the user community to Unidata, and the Strategic Advisory Committee, charged with ensuring that community needs are being met by Unidata. For additional information on Unidata's governing committees, see Unidata's governing committee pages.
If you have questions, please contact:
Kevin Goebbert
Chair, Unidata Users Committee
kevin.goebbert@valpo.edu
