NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Taiwan

This action funds James H. Ruppert, Jr. of Colorado State University to conduct a research project, entitled 'Impacts of subseasonal variability on heavy summertime rainfall in Taiwan,' during the summer of 2012 at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. The host scientist is Prof. Ben Jong-Dao Jou.

The Intellectual Merit of the study lies in improving understanding and prediction of severe-flood-producing heavy rainfall systems during the early-summer rainy season in Taiwan. The study provides description of the ways in which subseasonal atmospheric waves dictate the transitions between active and break periods in heavy rainfall during this rainy season. The research results promise new ways of predicting active and suppressed early-summer rainfall periods in Taiwan, which can last roughly a week to ten days, and thus mitigate the impacts of severe flood events that can be debilitating to local society in Taiwan. It's expected that results can be generalized to other sectors of the Asian monsoon basin as well as other summer monsoon regions around the globe.

The Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.