14 DAY TRIAL // On Saturday, April 4th, the University of Oklahoma has inaugurated its newest and most capable radar system, entitled OU-PRIME (Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering), a machine that is expected to allow the learning institution to continue its role as a leader in the area of weather-related research. The university's Research Campus has been the place for the festivities, which have crowned the finalization of the project. The PRIME will be operated by the Atmospheric Radar Research Center (ARRC) at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and has been first and foremost designed as a platform for education and research.
“This is the latest milestone in our 50-year history of leadership in weather radar. OU-PRIME is by far the most advanced and powerful weather radar at a university and will provide our faculty and students with an exceptional facility for education and research,” OU's Vice President for Research, Lee Williams, said.
“The commissioning of OU-PRIME marks the next step in our progress toward trying to make Norman the weather radar capitol of the world. OU-PRIME was built by our private-sector partner EEC, and is one of the most advanced weather radars in the world. It provides a platform for our students, faculty and scientists to develop all sorts of interesting algorithms, techniques and hardware in the fields of meteorology and engineering – after all, the last two letters of PRIME stand for meteorology and engineering,” Bob Palmer, the director of the ARRC, added.
The OU-PRIME is, in fact, a Doppler radar and, as such, it will be able to detect and locate precipitations, determine their type, and produce forecasts about the movement of the clouds or hurricanes. In addition, pulse Doppler radars can also determine the intensity of an atmospheric event, as well as the motion of the rain droplets falling around it. This type of data is very important for assessing the danger level of a storm, especially for cities in the tornado alley or in other disaster-prone areas.
Following Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, the OU-PRIME has officially become one of the best such radar sites in the US and a valuable acquisition for those at the University of Oklahoma. For those lucky enough to have attended the event, tours of the facility have been conducted by university officials, and guests have had the opportunity to see the labs firsthand.