#RICO20 $4 million NSF grant while Shukla's organization is being "dissolved" ?

When the challenger disaster occurred there was an intensive investigation on how decision making could go so wrong. How could so many smart people, scientists, mangers, engineers ignore what was obvious in hind-site. Or if there was someone who spoke up they were out of hand ignored. One of the outcomes of those studies was the concept of “group-think” which from personal experience is too often alive and well in corporate conference rooms and IT departments.
Anyways Climate change is group-think on a massive scale across finance, science, politics, media, and popular culture. If any good comes out of this mess it would be a historical study into how simple observation and reason can became so easily undermined. Maybe such a historical study can reduce the chances of such a disaster from occurring again.

This is strange. Does anyone do organisational flow charts? All these groups seem to flow out of IGES. This is an Auditors dream come true,
Incorporated in Maryland, but GMU is in Virginny,
“By consolidating several research grants from three different federal agencies (NSF, NOAA and NASA),”
Oh my, is that legal? Grants are awarded for very specific purposes and must used as such,
enjoy
michael
Institute of Global Environment and Society
J. Shukla, President
IGES COLA Climate Dynamics PhD GrADS Weather Maps Virginia Weather
Climate Research in Service to Society
Variations of the Earth’s climate affect the entire population and all the societies of the planet. Understanding how and why the climate changes from time to time and place to place on the globe is of central importance to many economic sectors and the social welfare of everyone. Taking the next step by using our growing understanding of climate to make predictions of its variations is the major challenge facing Earth scientists.
The Institute of Global Environment and Society, Inc. (IGES) – a non-profit, tax exempt research institute, incorporated in the State of Maryland – was established to improve understanding and prediction of the variations of the Earth’s climate through scientific research on climate variability and climate predictability, and to share both the fruits of this research and the tools necessary to carry out this research with society as a whole. The staff of IGES includes a dedicated group of scientists uniquely qualified to conduct basic research in these areas. Application of scientific knowledge for the sustainable development of society is an important objective of the Institute.
The Institute has established a center of excellence dedicated to basic research on the Earth’s current climate: the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA). By consolidating several research grants from three different federal agencies (NSF, NOAA and NASA), a single, multi-agency, multi-year research project was developed to create a critical mass of scientists working together as a team at COLA on the basic problem of the predictability of the present climate. With continuing multi-agency support, COLA has become a national center of excellence for research on climate variability and predictability. The goal of COLA research is to explore, establish and quantify the predictability and prediction of seasonal to interannual variability of the present climate through the use of state-of-the-art dynamical coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation models and the development of new techniques for analysis of observational and model data.
The institute has established a second center of excellence dedicated to basic research on the Earth’s water cycle and how changes in this cycle impact the global environment: the Center for Research on Environment and Water (CREW). The goal of CREW research is to quantify and predict water cycle and environmental consequences of earth system variability and change through focused research investments in observation, modeling, and application. CREW research integrates across traditional disciplines to develop an end-to-end program that transitions theoretical research to academic/public education and real-world application, through partnerships with universities, the government, and international agencies. The center goal of improved and applicable predictions of the water and energy cycles will require decisive progression from observations to improved understanding and modeling, and eventually to better prediction and application. The three CREW elements can be summarized as follows:
Observation: Quantify long-term water cycle trends & variability; enable progression toward a coordinated water cycle observation system; extract knowledge and understanding from diverse observations to enhance prediction capability.
Modeling & Prediction: Use multiple state-of-the-art “operational” earth-system models; conduct sensitivity and predictability experiments; infuse process-scale understanding to predict water cycle extremes. Enhance prediction through observational constraints; explore limits of water cycle predictability.
Solutions: Enhance operational decision support tools with improved prediction; Engage in public and research community education; application; link to other earth system components
There is also an interest at IGES in the application of new scientific insights and emerging climate prediction capabilities to practical problems of sustainable economic development, resource management, and public health and safety. Through the involvement of scientists with the interested stakeholders in these issues of vital importance for society and the environment, IGES transforms scientific research results into information of value for policy guidance and development.
The Institute interacts with climate research institutions in the U.S. and throughout the world. Fruitful collaborations have been undertaken with institutes in Brazil, India and Italy as well as with international centers such as the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction and the International Center for Theoretical Physics.

There is a old trick of setting up a business , such has as builders , making a load of money by ripping people off , then setting up the same type of business with a different name but with all the same people so you can leave the first one with all the problems and debts . What we may be seeing in this case is the academic version of this, given its climate ‘science ‘ with ethical standards so low a snake could not get under them, this is may be a good bet .
The bad news , they are highly likely to get away with , as long as the university gets its cut and the organisation produces the ‘right ‘ type of research, any rule breaking is going to be ‘OK’

George Mason is also home to Prof. Edward Wegman (of Wegman Report fame). When a FOIA was presented to the University regarding Prof. Wegman’s correspondence, GMU and Wegman (unlike UVA and Mann) responded with the materials.
Prof. Wegman was accused of many things, even including misallocation of federal grants. Prof. Shukla may eventually join him in the unpleasant business of justifying every grant, every email and every public statement he has ever uttered. But it will be interesting to see how George Mason responds to the inevitable FOIAs that will seek to shine light on the questions raised by Prof. Shukla’s “inadvertantly” official advocacy and University funding entanglements with Shukla family-run businesses.