NASA Collaborator Finds a Home at UMBC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 9, 2009

CONTACT:
Deborah Shapiro
Marketing Manager
410-455-1509
dshapiro@umbc.edu

bwtech@UMBC is pleased to welcome StormCenter Communications to its Incubator and Accelerator. The company, which specializes in weather and climate communications technologies, looks forward to expanding its business and taking advantage of the opportunities available at UMBC.

Founded in 2001 by Dave Jones, a meteorologist who once did on-air weather forecasting for NBC4 in Washington, DC, StormCenter Communications develops technologies that enable weather and climate visualization and collaboration for NOAA’s National Weather Service, FEMA and other civilian purposes. The company is currently working with NASA to develop a product that can be used by both TV stations and emergency planning agencies to predict and plan for catastrophic weather and climate events. UMBC’s existing relationship with NASA was a key factor in Jones’s decision to relocate his company: the university ranks 2nd nationally in NASA university research grants and cooperative agreements. bwtech@UMBC’s Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center and Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology are two such collaborations between UMBC and NASA.

Another reason Jones decided to move his company from Howard County to UMBC was the opportunity to collaborate with UMBC faculty on upcoming StormCenter projects and hire UMBC student interns. The chance to interact with and learn from other early-stage company CEOs was also appealing to Jones, as was bwtech@UMBC’s network server capabilities that allow the transmission of large data files.

Establishing residence at the bwtech@UMBC Incubator and Accelerator also allows Jones to fulfill a goal he has had for a while: educating K-16 schools and the community about extreme weather, climate change and their impacts on society. StormCenter has set up a technology showcase room and broadcast studio on the 4th floor of the building and will invite scientists to present to school classrooms and science centers via video teleconferencing. “It’s something I always wanted to do but never had the capability,” said Jones.

“bwtech@UMBC is delighted to welcome StormCenter Communications,” said David Fink, director of entrepreneurial services at bwtech@UMBC. “They are a natural fit with UMBC’s strengths in the sciences and engineering and have much to offer in their field. We look forward to helping them achieve their goals.”