CIRES

What CIRES does

CIRES is a non-profit research institute housed at the University of Colorado Boulder, established in 1967 through a Congressional appropriation and operating under a cooperative agreement with NOAA (now branded as the Cooperative Institute for Earth System Research and Data Science, or CIESRDS). It employs hundreds of scientists, engineers, and students organized around eight research themes covering weather, climate, atmospheric chemistry, the cryosphere, sea level, space weather, planetary boundaries, and Earth system data science. Its work is tightly coupled to federal science priorities, leveraging satellite observations, the Community Earth System Model (CESM), and partnerships with NOAA Earth System Research Laboratories, NCAR, NASA, and NSF.

Operationally, CIRES does not sell a product or charge customers; instead it is funded through federal grants and cooperative agreements, with NOAA as the primary sponsor and additional support from NASA, NSF, and other agencies. Its underlying technical assets include contributions to CESM, the CFMIP and COSP modeling frameworks, satellite mission science teams (e.g., NASA's PREFIRE), and public-facing science communication tools such as Data Puzzles and StoryMaps. Education and workforce development — including K-12 programs, the Research Experiences in the Cryospheric and Atmospheric Sciences (RECCS) program, the Science Pathways Program, the CIRES Visiting Fellows Program, and the CIRES Postdoctoral Visiting Fellowship — are central to its mission and to sustaining its research pipeline. A 2022–2027 Strategic Plan guides the institute's priorities, with an explicit tilt toward data science and Earth system-scale analytics.

Name

CIRES

Legal name

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Website

https://cires.colorado.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

CIRES is a non-profit research institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, founded in 1967 and funded primarily through a NOAA cooperative agreement. It employs hundreds of scientists across eight Earth system research themes, supporting federal climate, weather, and atmospheric science priorities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. NOAA Cooperative Agreement: Primary funding through cooperative agreement with NOAA (Cooperative Institute for Earth System Research and Data Science - CIESRDS), competed every 10 years and funded by Congress through NOAA
2. NSF and NASA Research Grants: Research in atmospheric chemistry funded primarily through NASA and NSF grants
3. Congressional Appropriations: Funding through congressional appropriations managed by NOAA

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CIRES is a university-based research institute that conducts interdisciplinary environmental science research on Earth's dynamic systems, including the atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. Through its CIESRDS cooperative agreement with NOAA, CIRES organizes research across eight themes—Future Atmosphere, Climate Science and Prediction, Earth System Data Science, Regional Science, Scientific Outreach, Space Weather, Weather Forecasting, and Ecosystem Science—and supports graduate education, professional development, and public science engagement.

Product overview

CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) is a research institute at the University of Colorado Boulder that functions as a multi-disciplinary research center rather than a single product company. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected programs including research groups (Jennifer Kay group, Margaret Tolbert group, Ben Livneh group), educational programs (CEEE, RECCS, CECA), science communication products (Spheres Magazine, StoryMaps), and professional development opportunities (Graduate Student Research Awards, Travel Awards, Visiting Fellows Program). The core of CIRES operations is the CIESRDS cooperative agreement with NOAA, which funds research across eight thematic areas including climate science, space weather, and ecosystem science. The institute also provides community engagement through newsletters, public talks, webinars, and Science Pathways programs that lower barriers to participation in environmental science research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CEEE: Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation - connects environmental science and people to inspire curiosity, community, and action
• ESOC
• Spheres Magazine
• CECA

Products and services

• Cooperative Institute for Earth System Research and Data Science (CIESRDS) The flagship cooperative agreement between CU Boulder and NOAA, guiding research organized into eight themes—Future Atmosphere, Climate Science and Prediction, Earth System Data Science, Regional Science, Scientific Outreach, Space Weather, Weather Forecasting, and Ecosystem Science—delivering mission-critical Earth system science for NOAA.
• CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE)

Quantifiable outcome

• Research organized into 8 key themes covering Future Atmosphere, Climate Science, Earth System Data Science, Regional Science, Scientific Outreach, Space Weather, Weather Forecasting, and Ecosystem Science

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIRES at CU Boulder has partnered with NOAA since 1967. The current cooperative agreement titled 'Cooperative Institute for Earth System Research and Data Science' (CIESRDS) is funded by Congress through NOAA. About half of CIRES' researchers work side-by-side with NOAA federal colleagues in the David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colorado. This partnership fosters fundamental and applied research, provides NOAA with university intellectual depth, and gives students direct experience in operational research.
• NOAA Laboratories and CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIRES researchers work with NOAA federal colleagues in four research laboratories, three centers, and one office, most based in the David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colorado. These collaborations are key to many aspects of NOAA's mission-critical work.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kay Group works with scientists at NCAR, also located in Boulder, on research involving coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice processes, remote sensing observations, and climate modeling.
• NASA Science TeamscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kay Group works with NASA science teams on observing clouds, precipitation, and radiation. Research projects include NASA PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far InfraRed Experiment) and NASA Ocean Physics.
• Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEEE connects environmental science and people to inspire curiosity, community, and action. The center develops unique curricula, programs, and events connecting people with CIRES science.
• Protect Our Winters (POW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kay Group conducts education and outreach with Protect Our Winters, focusing on climate change communication and engagement.
• Environmental Law Institute (ELI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kay Group partners with ELI for education and outreach activities related to environmental science communication.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Tolbert group's research is primarily funded through NASA, including studies on planetary atmospheric aerosols, Titan's atmosphere, and early Earth conditions.
• National Science Foundation (NSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Tolbert group's research is primarily funded through NSF, supporting studies on atmospheric heterogeneous chemistry and aerosol formation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): NCAR is a Boulder, CO-based federally funded research and development center sponsored by NSF that conducts atmospheric and Earth system science. It is a direct peer to CIRES in scope, geography, and funding model, and is already named as a CIRES research partner.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS): GISS is a NASA Earth science laboratory in New York focused on climate modeling, atmospheric composition, and planetary atmospheres. It is a direct peer to CIRES in climate/atmospheric research, overlapping funding sponsors (NASA), and research areas like planetary atmospheric aerosols (cf. Tolbert group).
• NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL): PSL is a NOAA research laboratory in Boulder, CO that studies weather, climate, and hydrometeorological processes. It co-locates with CIRES at the David Skaggs Research Center and overlaps CIRES' Weather Research and Forecasting theme.
• Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO): JISAO is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at the University of Washington focused on atmosphere-ocean coupling, climate, and Earth-system science. It is a direct peer to CIRES in cooperative-institute structure, NOAA funding model, and research breadth across climate, weather, and oceanography.
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: Lamont-Doherty is Columbia University's Earth science research observatory covering climate, oceanography, and solid-Earth science. It is a direct peer to CIRES in scale, multi-disciplinary Earth-system research, and federally funded academic research model.
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Scripps is a UC San Diego research institution conducting oceanographic, atmospheric, and Earth system science. It is a direct peer to CIRES in academic Earth-system research breadth and in producing research that informs federal climate/weather priorities.
• Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS): CIMSS is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison focused on satellite meteorology and atmospheric science. It directly parallels CIRES' cooperative-institute structure, NOAA funding model, and emphasis on satellite observations and modeling.
• Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA): CIRA is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at Colorado State University focused on atmospheric science, satellite meteorology, and weather research. It shares CIRES' exact institutional model (NOAA-funded cooperative institute at a public university) and overlapping research themes (weather, climate, satellite observations).
• NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL): CSL is a NOAA research laboratory in Boulder, CO that conducts atmospheric chemistry, aerosol, and air-quality research. It is one of the four NOAA laboratories embedded alongside CIRES at the David Skaggs Research Center and shares CIRES' atmospheric-chemistry research themes.
• NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL): GFDL is a NOAA federal laboratory in Princeton, NJ that develops Earth system and climate models (including contributions to CMIP). It is a direct peer to CIRES in climate modeling, atmospheric/oceanic research, and alignment with the CESM/COSP ecosystem referenced in CIRES materials.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubelp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/a2xDl3Q/ciresnewsletter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooperative-institute-for-research-in-environmental-sciences
• Xx.com/CIRESnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/CIRESnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CIRES