Abstract:
http://unidata.ucar.edu/ Participation in the Unidata community allows users (primarily educators and
researchers), to access data and visualization software to explore earth-system
phenomena.
Multidisciplinary from its origins in 1983, the community hosts participants
from atmospheric science, hydrology, oceanography, climatology, engineering,
... and environmental science among other disciplines; though its primary focus is
meteorology.
Key to Unidata's success is its active, dynamic community. While the Unidata
Program Center (UPC), based in Boulder, CO, is the community's virtual and
geographic hub, interaction among community members takes many paths, not all
of them radiating from the UPC. The Internet Data Distribution (IDD), a near
real-time data distribution topology, is an excellent example of community
members sharing data resources. Over 150 University departments and research
laboratories participate in the IDD.
Unidata is governed by its community. Acting as its board of directors, the
Policy Commitee works to strategically guide the UPC. The Users Committee
(which reports to the Policy Committee), gives voice to the entire Unidata
community by providing the UPC with feedback on how it can be the most
effective.
[Summary Extracted from the Unidata Home Page] 
