NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - University of Oklahoma President David Boren says the school has been selected for a $75 million federal research agreement that will help employ 160 scientists and researchers through 2016.

Boren announced Monday that the school was selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a partner in research to improve weather radars, improve storm forecasting and study extreme weather.

At a press conference at the National Weather Center in Norman, Boren lauded the announcement as an example of how research at the university creates jobs and economic development for the state.

Nearly a dozen federal and university weather-related entities, including several NOAA divisions, are housed at the 244,000-square-foot weather center, which anchors the rapidly expanding research campus on the university's southern edge.