The Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS) is housed within the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), UCAR Office of Programs (UOP). JOSS headquarters is located in Boulder, CO. The Office receives funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as support from other U.S. agencies, private sources, and international organizations.

Prior to 2005, JOSS consisted of two groups: the Field Operations and Data Management (FODM) group and the Program Support Operations (PSO) group. In 2005, JOSS transitioned, with the FODM staff moving to NCAR’s Earth Observing Laboratory, and PSO/JOSS remaining in UCAR UOP and retaining the name JOSS.

During a typical year, JOSS provides various support services for over 475 scientific events and more than 2,500 travelers. Supported meeting size has ranged from 12 to 1,200 participants. These international and domestic meetings are critical to scientists and governmental agencies because they represent initial planning stages of future research, a gathering and sharing of information and opinions within the community and government, and/or presentations of research data or future predictions to various interested parties.

JOSS-supported meetings have covered many topics. For example, JOSS supported  a large meeting of Native Americans from across the U.S., funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Representatives from various tribes came together to share their perspectives about how their lives are being affected by weather and how they incorporate their old ways into the modern world with regard to climate issues. Oceans and Human Health is another topic being studied. JOSS has also supported several large, politically significant meetings in Washington, DC, designed to help atmospheric scientists share their knowledge, research findings, and predictions with agencies that have the power to influence government decisions. A link to lists of Past and Present Projects can be found on the left hand table of this web page under the General list.

In addition to facilitating meetings, JOSS

There are 11 on-site JOSS staff, representing more than 125 person-years of experience.  (staff page and director page). In addition, there are 37 JOSS staff situated in other locations across the U.S. These term employees provide scientific, technical, administrative, and programmatic expertise to several national and international projects.  This wealth of professionalism and experience is applied to ensure successful scientific activities for the benefit of society.