Are you working on UFS or Earth Modeling research, or development?
If so, we would genuinely love to hear from you!
UFS Insights is a UFS community newsletter. While the EPIC team helps coordinate, edit, and publish each issue, the heart of the newsletter has always been and should continue to be the people across the UFS community who are building, testing, and using the Unified Forecast System.
How the UFS community has shaped past issues
Looking back across recent issues of UFS Insights, the strongest and most impactful content came directly from community contributions, not from a single team or organization.
In past issues, UFS users and developers have:
Shared research results and early findings from university groups, NOAA labs, and partner institutions
Described real-world experiences using UFS components, including lessons learned, challenges encountered, and solutions developed
Highlighted new capabilities, workflows, and tools that others in the community could adopt or build upon
Reflected on collaborations across agencies, labs, and academia, showing how UFS work connects people as much as it connects models
These stories came from community members raising their hands and saying: “Here’s something we’re working on, and it might be useful to others.” That spirit is exactly what we want to strengthen.
How to get involved
If you have an idea, even a rough one, we encourage you to share it. You can:
- Submit a content idea
Short write-ups of ongoing or recently completed work
Overviews of a new approach, dataset, or configuration
Descriptions of collaborations, workshops, or community efforts
Ideas for topics the community should be talking about
Propose a short article or story
Subscribe to future issues of UFS Insights
All of this can be done through the UFS Insights newsletter page. The EPIC team is happy to work with contributors to shape ideas, refine drafts, and make the process as easy as possible. You don’t need a polished article to get started, just a willingness to share.
Why community input matters
The UFS is broad by design, spanning global to regional systems, research to operations, and physics to workflows. No single group can represent that breadth alone. The UFS Insights Newsletter needs ongoing community input to ensure:
Important work can be seen
Lessons learned in one corner of the community can reach others
New users don’t miss practical insights that could help them get started faster
The Newsletter grows and stays up-to-date with the growth of the UFS itself
Community contributions ensure that UFS Insights reflects what is actually happening across the UFS ecosystem, not just what is easiest to summarize from one vantage point.
Just as importantly, community-driven content helps:
Lower barriers for new contributors and early-career scientists
Share ideas earlier, before they become “final products”
Foster connections between groups who might not otherwise cross paths
The Unified Forecast System is a community effort, and UFS Insights should reflect that same ethos. The more voices we hear, the more useful, representative, and engaging the newsletter becomes.
If you’re part of the UFS community, this is your invitation:
