The preliminary programme is now available. Please note that this is subject to minor changes.

The theme for the group activities will be made available soon.

The programme will contain informative talks by participants and ECMWF staff, keynote addresses on specific topics to stimulate discussion and sessions where networking will be encouraged. There will also be a display area for visual demonstrations and posters. The main thematic areas covered during the meeting will be:

Weather forecasting
This session invites papers on weather and marine forecasting practices in the operational environment. Emphasis will be given to the use of ECMWF forecast data and products to shape decisions and assess risks of high impact weather events. Papers on novel ways of communicating weather information to decision makers and the public, including use of new technologies to extend the reach of warnings are welcome.
Weather and financial/energy applications
The purpose of this session is to explore the use of ECMWF forecast information and associated uncertainty estimates at different time scales in managing risk and pricing in sectors such as insurance, agriculture, energy and commodity trading. Contributions on weather impact on energy production, consumption and management of related risks are welcome.
Weather and societal impacts
This session invites contributions on applications that look at ways to mitigate or reduce risks associated with high-impact weather events. Papers discussing use of ECMWF's meteorological data for the humanitarian sector and transport sector are welcome.

Attendees are encouraged to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation in any of the thematic areas indicated above, as well as general papers providing feedback on ECMWF forecast products and their quality.

The poster session and cocktails will be on Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting dinner will be on Thursday evening at 'The Meade Hall' (www.crownandcushionminley.co.uk/Meade/index.html) where we will be entertained with typical English Folk music and dances.

You will receive confirmation of your participation within 5 days of registration. Please see date above for presentation confirmation.

Please note that we have a maximum number of participants set to 100. Priority will be given to those who who submit an abstract.

Abstract submission is closed. All authors will be informed if their abstract was accepted by 15 May. There are some places left for participation. Please use the form below to register.

Posters should be standard A0 size (portrait orientation) 841mm (width) x 1189mm (height). Please let us know if you plan to bring your roll-up poster board.
Viewing time and details on setting up and taking down posters will be advised prior to the meeting.
Oral presentations should not exceed 20 minutes including discussion.
Speakers should make their presentation available to the chair of the relevant session or they can be sent in advance to UEF2013@lists.ecmwf.int with 'UEF2013 yourname' in the subject field of the email.

Oral and poster presentations: We will try to accommodate the authors' preferences but we reserve the right to change presentations from oral to poster.

WILLIAM B GAIL

is president-elect of the American Meteorological Society as well as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Global Weather Corporation, a provider of precision forecasts for renewable energy and other weather-sensitive business sectors.  He was previously a Director in the Startup Business Group at Microsoft, Vice President of mapping products at Vexcel Corporation (where he initiated its 2006 acquisition by Microsoft), and Director of Earth science programs at Ball Aerospace (responsible for Earth science and meteorology spacecraft).  Dr. Gail received his undergraduate degree in Physics and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, where his research focused on physics of the Earth's magnetosphere.  During this period, he spent a year as cosmic ray field scientist at South Pole Station. 

Dr. Gail is a lifetime Associate of the US National Academy of Science’s research council, having participated on a number of committees including the recent review of the National Weather Service and the 2007 Decadal Survey that recommended a 10-year satellite plan for NASA and NOAA.  He serves or has served on a variety of editorial, corporate, and organizational boards including Women in Aerospace, Imaging Notes magazine, SPIE Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society, NOAA Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (acting), NASA Senior Review, NASA Earth Sciences Roadmap Committee, and NASA Applied Sciences Program Advisory Group.

JUDITH CURRY

is Professor and Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology and President (co-owner) of Climate Forecast Applications Network ((CFAN). She received a Ph.D. in Geophysical Sciences  from the University of Chicago in 1982.  Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, she held faculty positions at the University of Colorado, Penn State University and Purdue University. She currently serves on the NASA Advisory Council Earth Science Subcommittee and has recently served on the National Academies Climate Research Committee and the Space Studies Board, and the NOAA Climate Working Group. Curry is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union.

NICOLE GIRARDOT

studied meteorology for three years at the French National School. She started to work at Météo-France in 1989. After six years in the Computer Division, she joined the Forecasting Department. She started to deal with ensembles in 1997. Since there, her main activities have been to develop products based on Ensemble Prediction Systems and promote their use. She is also involved in courses about Probabilistic Forecasts at the National Met School. For several years, she has been the Météo-France Met Contact Point for ECMWF, broadcasting information from ECMWF to French users and transmitting feedback from French forecasters to ECMWF.

EMILY NIEBUHR

graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a master's degree in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, where she studied coastal topographic wind processes. In 2009, she began working as an intern and then a General Forecaster at the National Weather Service in Anchorage Alaska.  As a forecaster, she worked on multiple studies using the WRF model to examine extreme gap wind and mountain wave events in Alaska.  Currently she is a meteorologist for the UN World Food Programme and uses ECMWF products extensively to forecast short term extreme events and long term seasonal patterns. Currently she is also a member of the American Meteorological Society Mountain Meteorology Committee.

Information about the location of ECMWF and how to find us can be found here.

ECMWF will provide a complimentary shuttle bus service between ECMWF and Reading town centre starting after day one of the meeting.

The drop off and pick up point in the town centre is at the Ibis Hotel.

Other hotels frequently used by our visitors are: 
- Premier Inn (Reading Central) 
- Mercure George Hotel 
- Great Expectations

Further information about Reading can be found here

Karen Clarke

UEF2013@lists.ecmwf.int