About SOARS

Our Program is designed to promote and support research, mentoring and community. NSF SOARS Protégés can participate for up to four (4) summers conducting research in atmospheric and earth-system sciences. NSF SOARS offers comprehensive financial support for summer research, conference travel. Over 90% of NSF SOARS Protégés advance to graduate school; and many have entered the workforce with the MS degree, and/or continued onto the PhD degree.

Atmospheric Sciences include research ranging from processes, such as how individual water molecules condense on dust; how pollutants are suspended in the air; to examining how solar flares, two and a half times larger than the earth itself, influence the upper atmosphere of the entire planet. Some of the exciting areas of research in Earth ystem science include understanding a rapidly changing climate and its impact on the Earth and its inhabitants; severe weather events like deep hail, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods; and the changing, chemical composition of the atmosphere.

NSF SOARS invites students from multiple STEM disciplines -- including chemistry, ecology, engineering, geography, mathematics, meteorology, physics, and the social sciences--to deepen their expertise in understanding the Earth’s Atmosphere. In particular, NSF SOARS seeks to involve students from a wide range of communities and backgrounds including those from rural and urban areas, first generation students, those who do not have access to research programs, and those who would benefit from a community-focused research cohort. NSF SOARS welcomes students of all races and genders, LGBTQ+ students, veterans, students with disabilities, and neurodiverse students, as well as students who have experienced, and worked to overcome, educational or economic disadvantages, and/or who have personal or family circumstances that may complicate their continued progress in research careers.

Our dedicated staff and team help keep the program running to support proteges, mentors, alum and the entire NSF SOARS community.