The Center for Climate and Aerosol Research (CCAR) at Portland State University serves as an internationally recognized, multidisciplinary engine for transformative research and teaching in areas of climate science, atmospheric science, air quality and environmental health. The center includes scholars with expertise across seven departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, and College of Urban and Public Affairs.
CCAR conducts externally funded research that is relevant both nationally and regionally on the topics of:
- Greenhouse gases and atmospheric aerosol particles and their effects on global energy budgets;
- Feedbacks between greenhouse gases, aerosols, air quality, and climate;
- Hydrology-climate systems and precipitation;
- Meteorology and climatology;
- Changes in global and regional climate and the simultaneous effects on ecosystem health, human health, and economic sustainability.
CCAR maintains close connections with other relevant entities within and outside of PSU that have climate-related missions, including the Institute for Sustainable Solutions (ISS), the PSU School of the Environment (SoE), Oregon Transportation Research and Educational Consortium (OTREC), and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI). Outside of the University environment, CCAR faculty regularly consult with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the City of Portland Bureau of Sustainability, and the State of Oregon. CCAR faculty maintain a number of regional industry connections including Intel (Oregon’s largest private employer).
The centerpiece of CCAR's education mission is the National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) summer research program. The CCAR REU program began in 2014 with the objective of providing atmospheric science summer research experiences to promising students in STEM disciplines from rural Northwest and Native American communities who would be unlikely to be otherwise exposed to such opportunities at their home institution. Undergraduate participants in the CCAR REU are engaged in research practices and scientific discovery while developing expertise in fields of climate and atmospheric sciences working with a faculty mentor who is an expert in the field. Click here to learn more about the NSF CCAR REU program and apply for summer.
Learn more about the NSF CCAR REU program!