The Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres (ITPA) was established in 1991 as Stony Brook University’s center for research and teaching in atmospheric sciences. The Institute offers an undergraduate program granting the B.S. degree and a graduate program in which students can earn M.S. and PhD degrees. ITPA faculty conducts research on a wide range of topics in atmospheric sciences including atmospheric chemistry, aerosol physics, weather forecasting, climate dynamics, climate modeling and climate prediction. The ITPA is housed in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

For further information about the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres, the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences or Stony Brook University, mail, E-mail, phone or fax us at:

Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Stony Brook University
Nicolls Road
Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000
Attention: ITPA Staff Assistant

631-632-8009 tel
631-632-2175 fax

Apply Online for Prospective Graduate Students

Directions to the campus

Map of the campus

Contact ITPA

History of Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook

In 1975 the Laboratory for Planetary Atmospheres was established within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Stony Brook. Its creation reflected the fact that several College faculty members had developed active research programs in this area. In 1988 the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres was established within the University, reflecting the fact that faculty in several departments in different colleges had active research and graduate education programs in the atmospheric sciences. The Institute’s creation facilitated interactions in this area, led to the addition of atmospheric science faculty at Stony Brook, and increased the external visibility of the University’s efforts in the atmospheric sciences.

In 1992 the Institute relocated to the Marine Sciences Research Center (the former name for SoMAS), and the faculty had their appointments shifted there. This move reflected the University’s realization that many aspects of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans must be considered in an integrated manner and that the ITPA’s emphasis upon global atmospheric issues is an excellent complement to SoMAS’s emphasis on coastal issues.

The Division of Information Technology at Stony Brook University launched SB You!, a Word Press blogging platform hosted by CampusPress in late 2013. SB You is a perfect platform for a redesign of the ITPA website. The organization of the previous iteration of the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres website was maintained, with some slight changes.

The webcam image on this site is the current image from the webcam mounted on the roof of the Health Sciences Center. The camera is aimed at the main campus of Stony Brook University, looking to the northwest. The weather station and webcam installed on the Health Sciences Center was a collaborative effort between the Health Sciences Center, ITPA, SoMAS and the Stony Brook Meteorology Club. Initial discussions and planning began in April 2012 and the equipment was installed in June 2013. In addition to still images, the camera also captures time-lapse video.

Images below from the Health Sciences Center Webcam showing the variety of weather seen by the camera.