The Novim Group

Programs: Climate change analysis: this study primarily concentrates on a cogent presentation of reports completed to date by the intergovernmental program for climate change (ipcc). Although publicly available, ipcc reports are steeped in scientific jargon, often difficult for the layman to fathom. Novim will not be conducting new research, but instead taking these existing peer-reviewed papers, analyzing them through a non-partisan lens, and developing web and mobile applications allowing users to view and interact with the complex information. The applications will utilize new techniques in "augmented reality" to overlay pertinent localized data on top of a visual display. Phase i scoping workshop: a group of scientists convened in the summer of 2014 to review novim's proposal, and establish project guidelines and scoping for the execution phases. Phase ii building an animated application: a website/mobile app was developed to visually simplify the vast information provided by the most recent ipcc report - ar5 and animate the interactions. This required synthesizing of the results contained in over 2000 page of data on climate change projected out to 2100. Much of the data was taken from the coupled model inter-comparison project phase 5 (cmip5), a collection of 42 climate models, all running the same scenarios. Users will be able to see the variability of the predictions for 4 different versions of the future. Phase iii adding mitigation strategies: finally, novim will examine how, in the opinion of the ipcc reports, the concentration of ghgs can be mitigated, particularly focusing on the effects of evolving processes and technologies. In the ipcc ar5, the cmip5 is run against 4 ghg concentration scenarios, called representative concentration pathways (rcps) that predict the level of ghgs in the atmosphere. The rcps were developed by different group, and at different times, and reflect varying views on how the concentrations will evolve, some very optimistic, some pessimistic. Because these scenarios are the primary driver of the climate change models, this should make the relationship between technological advances and climate change clearer.

nuclear energy study:american nuclear energy stands at the crossroads between declining production and a robust future. A dearth of new reactor construction and the pending retirement of aging reactors suggest that we will have little or no nuclear power before long. A declining nuclear power industry in the u. S. May create national security concerns particularly with the resulting loss of nuclear expertise needed for u. S. Leadership internationally. In view of climate change concerns, nuclear power may be needed as a carbon-free energy option. The rising demand for nuclear power globally will be driven by increasing demand for electricity and concerns about the environmental consequences of fossil fuel use. Most global economic and climate models show electricity production growing by factors of three to six, regardless of emission constraints. Under such constraints, nuclear generation would increase its share to about 17%. As growing concern for the climate drives even natural gas out of the electricity portfolio, nuclear will be a critical partner to renewable energy and to carbon capture and sequestration as a carbon-free source of electricity. None of these is likely to supply, on its own, sufficient electricity to meet any reasonable level of global electricity demand. The novim team studied the impact of nuclear energy. After months of work, the novim team produced a report that has been widely distributed. The team expects the results of the report will create an avenue for their scientists to discuss the options presented in the report with the department of energy's nuclear energy office.

climate & environment budgetthe administration's proposal for the budget of the u. S. Government fiscal year 2018 included significant reductions to many climate and environmental programs. It was unclear whether any or all of these reductions would be sustained. Novim believes that a rigorous assessment of the impacts of such substantial changes on critical programs is a necessary undertaking. This study was intended to inform the general public, the scientific community and policymakers in both the administration and congress of what the impacts of the reductions might be.

1) the alexandra j. Noble awards program was launched in 2016 in memory of the large grant made by ms. Noble in 2015. The goal of this project is to honor efforts that communicate complex science topics in innovative, engaging ways to stimulate higher awareness of scientific issues in the general populace, and particularly in children and young adults. 2) the methane resource study whereby scientific and technical experts analyze existing studies of the emissions profile of natural gas during the production and distribution phases, with a focus on determining a range of actual methane leakage rates.