Academic and Federal Partners

CIRES was created in 1967 as a partnership of the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We are NOAA's oldest and largest cooperative institute.

About half of CIRES' researchers work in NOAA’s David Skaggs Research Center in the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), the Space Weather Prediction Center, and the National Centers for Environmental Information. Our researchers there participate in many aspects of NOAA’s mission-critical work. Our NOAA-based research is guided and sustained by a Cooperative Agreement, reviewed every five years and funded by Congress through NOAA.

Our CU-Boulder-based researchers are affiliated with departments across campus and we are dedicated to the university’s academic mission, including training the scientists of tomorrow. These CIRES scientists support their research with external funding from diverse sources: The Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and much more.

This partnership fosters fundamental and applied research in disciplines ranging from the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere to the oceans, hydrosphere, and cryosphere. It provides NOAA with access to university intellectual depth and resources while giving students direct experience in operational and mission-focused research.