Roberto MeraNCSU/UNCA

August 28th, 2008

An Update on the Development of an MS in

Climate Change and Society (CC&S)

Partners• UNC-Asheville

• NCDC• NC State University• UNC-Wilmington• Oak Ridge National

Laboratory• Appalachian State

University

• WildSouth• Progress Energy• The Nature

Conservancy

CC&S

Associations

Research areas covered this summer

• Will there be opportunities available for graduates of the program?

• What skills sets are the application sectors looking for from graduates of the program?

• What input can other educational institutions provide?

• Identifying prospective students

CC&S

CC&SResearch Projects and Internships

• The CC&S program will include either a research project as a capstone at the end of the degree or an internship with an identified industry or government / non-profit organization

• Every contact available wanted to be a part of the CC&S project

CC&SInternships & Opportunities

• A list of 30-40 internships have been identified from the following:– NCDC, Oak Ridge National Laboratories,

Forest Service, NC State Climate Office, Unison Engine Components, Volvo North America, Mission Hospitals, Henderson Co., Durham Co., Orange Co., Town of Chapel Hill, City of Asheville, Biltmore Estate, Nature Conservancy, Progress Energy, Land of Sky, NC State Energy Office, SRC, AquaTerra, WildSouth

CC&S

Skills sets

• Views varied according to the application but tended to overlap as well

• In summary:– For non-profits/government: communication skills,

legislative policy, marketing, politics, economics, basic science, planning, GIS, social marketing

– For industries: basic science, engineering, working knowledge of models, economics, GIS, technical knowledge

Input from other Educational Institutions

• A number of institutions were contacted to get additional information for CC&S

• Institutions included WCU, NCSU, UNC-Chapel Hill, Northern Illinois, Univ. of South Carolina, Univ. of Arizona, Duke

CC&S

Input from other Educational Institutions

• Input varied from support to suggestions such as:– Start with a local base of partners– Exchange of information, classes between

institutions– Faculty and curriculum

CC&S

Prospective students

• Undergraduate students• Mid-career students• 10-15 potential students• Backgrounds vary from

economics to environmentalsciences, visual arts, non-profit organiza-tions, engineering, meteorologists, planners, government, business administration, ecology

CC&S

Finalizing work

• To summarize all interviews and work done for CC&S, I have created a database that includes contact information for all parties, number of internships available, future opportunities, prospective students, as well as skills and curriculum suggestions

CC&S

CC&SDatabase Layout

Credits

Marjorie McGuirk, Sandra Byrd, Fred Semazzi, Gerard Voos, Sharon LeDuc, Tami Houston, Jim

Fox, Lenny Bernstein, Ray Denny, Scott Shuford, Mary Carol Koester, Bill Jackson, Susan Fox, Matt Hutchins, Jeff Hicks, Wayne Faas, David Easterling, Tom Peterson, Greg Wilson, Dave

Brown, Greg Hammer, Eileen Shea, Max Lennon, Rick Robinson, Steve McNulty, Ryan Boyles,

Alan Thornburg, Paul Hudspeth, NEMAC team, Southern Research Station Team, Team NCDC,

and my wife

CC&S