NorthWest Research Associates

Excellence in Basic & Applied Research Since 1984

About NWRA

NorthWest Research Associates (NWRA) is a scientific research organization, owned and operated by its Principal Investigators, with expertise in the space and geophysical sciences.

Focused areas in basic and applied research include, but are not limited to: fundamental fluid dynamics, atmospheric science, ionospheric, solar, and stellar physics, oceanography, sea-ice mechanics, and electromagnetism.

Complementary areas of expertise include: field observations, remote sensing, data processing and assimilation, numerical modeling, signal processing and statistics, and instrumentation and measurement systems.

NWRA's mission is to achieve excellence in basic and applied research by providing a working environment designed to support the success of every scientist and engineer.

NWRA has 70 employees and is a certified small-business concern. In addition to the Corporate Headquarters and Research Office in Seattle, Washington, NWRA has Research Offices in Boulder, Colorado and in Monterey, California.

At NWRA, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to achieving our mission of excellence in basic and applied research. We believe that to advance scientific knowledge, it is essential to be exposed to views and beliefs other than one’s own. We strive to create a culture where Diversity, Equality, Inclusiveness (DEI) is woven into the very fabric of our core; in the ways we work, in how we act and who we partner with. We take pride in holding ourselves accountable and commit to taking meaningful action to any occurrence within our organization that violates these core principles.

NWRA appreciates that employee diversity is difficult to achieve in the physical and mathematical sciences; this change must begin in early education. We are therefore proud that our principles of equity and inclusion have supported exceptional gender diversity. Forty-five percent (45%) of NWRA’s ~70 employees are female and 40% of the scientists are female, with the majority serving as Principal Investigators.

NWRA provides medical health plans to its Regular employees working half-time or more. These links (Regence | Kaiser) lead to the machine-readable files, available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule, that includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data.