Weather modification firm buys UND's Citation II
Weather Modification International of Fargo, North Dakota, announced the purchase of an atmospheric research aircraft from the University of North Dakota and will expand a collaboration to develop programs and educational opportunities for students.
The purchase of UND’s Cessna Citation II weather research platform will augment “the most extensive atmospheric science fleet in the world,” said Weather Modification International President Neil Brackin in an Oct. 31 news release. “Building on our position as the global leader in operational cloud seeding and atmospheric sciences, our strong relationship with the University of North Dakota positively impacts the industry as well as the science and academic communities.”
Mike Poellot, chair of UND’s Atmospheric Sciences Department of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, added that the university was pleased that students would have “increased exposure to operational and research opportunities in the field of Atmospheric Sciences.”
Weather Modification International is a sister company to Fargo Jet Center, whose base it shares, and is a leading atmospheric chemistry, pollution and weather research, weather forecasting and modeling, and weather modification program company operating in 35 countries. The company is best known for cloud modification projects worldwide to suppress hail and enhance precipitation, and provides ground-based weather radar systems, it said.
The UND Department of Atmospheric Sciences conducts research and provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the atmospheric sciences, including an airborne studies program.
