CIMSS parent organization, the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) is a primary developer and operator of environmental satellite technologies.
[2] CIMSS develops and successfully implements techniques and products for using geostationary and polar-orbiting weather satellite visible and thermal radiation observations to improve forecasts of severe storms, including tornadoes and tropical cyclones.
CIMSS also plays a major role in instrument design and testing, and related software development for improved space-based measurements of the Earth's atmosphere.
CIMSS is very active in national and international field programs, testing new instrumentation, data processing systems, and assessing the geophysical utility of measurements.
CIMSS serves as an international center for research on the interpretation and uses of operational and experimental satellite observations and remote sensing data acquired from aircraft and the ground.