Timeline of Mesa Laboratory Development

Construction workers building the Mesa Lab

1958

  • The Committee on Meteorology recommends formation of a national
    institute dedicated to the study of atmospheric science

1959

  • 14 universities incorporate as UCAR

1960

  • UCAR contracts with NSF to found NCAR
  • Walter Orr Roberts is chosen as director of NCAR and president of UCAR
  • Table Mesa, in Boulder, CO is chosen as the site for NCAR’s Laboratories

1961

  • The city of Boulder permits NCAR to proceed with the laboratory construction and supplies water to NCAR.
  • The state of Colorado purchases the Table Mesa site and donates it to NSF.
  • I.M. Pei is unanimously selected as the architect to design the Mesa Laboratory

1964

Construction of the Mesa Lab

  • Martin K. Eby Construction Company is awarded the contract to build the lab
  • Ground is broken later that year

1966

  • By September NCAR staff occupy the new laboratory

1967

  • A dedication ceremony celebrates the new NCAR Mesa Laboratory

1969

  • The Fleischmann Building, which houses UCAR administration, is completed

1977

Plantings in the Tree Plaza

  • An addition to the Mesa Laboratory is completed to accommodate the Scientific Computing Division and its massive supercomputers

1980

  • An addition to the Mesa Laboratory is completed to accommodate the High Altitude Observatory

2002

  • Renovation of the existing Mesa Laboratory

 

(Paraphrased from “The National Center for Atmospheric Research: An Architectural Masterpiece” by Lucy Warner)