International collaboration has always been at the heart of COSMIC, a six-satellite network that intercepts GPS signals to measure weather, climate, and space weather variables. Now one of the leading university collaborators on COSMIC, the University of Graz, is UCAR’s latest international affiliate.

As part of NCAR and UCAR 50th anniversary festivities, university members and affiliates attended a gala dinner on 5 October at the University of Colorado’s Stadium Club.

There was no gold medal, no podium ceremony, and definitely no tears from the losers on 30 July, but there was a new national champion. On that date, NOAA proclaimed that a South Dakota hailstone had surpassed all contenders in both size and weight.