Federal labs add high-paying jobs to area’s economy

The Boulder Valley helps set the standard in the scientific world, largely because of the presence of several leading research laboratories supported by the federal government.

Probably the best known federal laboratory in the area is the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST. The institute’s famed U.S. Atomic Clock is located in Boulder.

Technologies and standards developed by NIST power the atomic clock as well as automated teller machines, mammograms, semiconductors and innumerable other products and services.

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The National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR, based in Boulder, is a federally funded laboratory independently operated by a consortium of universities under the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, also headquartered in Boulder.

NCAR allows the nation’s scientists to gain access to high-performance supercomputers, aircraft and radar to improve the understanding of atmospheric- and Earth-system processes.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has offices in Boulder, which focus on atmospheric studies that help provide the data for the National Weather Service.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, has its Institute of Telecommunications based in Boulder. The laboratory promotes advanced telecommunications and information infrastructure development in the United States along with the enhancement of domestic competitiveness, improvement of foreign trade opportunities for U.S. telecommunications firms, and facilitation of more efficient and effective use of the radio spectrum.

The National Ecological Observatory Network, or NEON, has grown fast in Boulder during the past several years. NEON is developing a national network of observatories to collect data and issue forecasts on how land use, climate change and invasive species will affect environmental ecosystems.

Many of the region’s federal laboratories work in close collaboration with the University of Colorado-Boulder. NOAA and CU jointly operate the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, in Boulder. The institute studies how natural and human-made disturbances impact Earth and how to best to meet societal needs with limited impact.

The many discoveries made at these labs in the Boulder Valley translate into new ideas, profits and efficiencies for the private sector. The labs help solidify the area as a high-tech region, along with providing economic stability.