Norman (population 110,925) is a city in Oklahoma. The county seat of Cleveland County and part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, the city is 30 km south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is the third-biggest city in the state.
The city of Norman was named the country's 6th best small city, by CNN/Money Magazine. It is the center of business and employment in Cleveland County
The city was established during the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush and was incorporated in the year 1891. The city of Norman is home to the biggest university within the state, encouraging the development of technological and scientific research businesses within Norman. The University of Oklahoma has a student population of 30,000, and a workforce of practically 11,000. The campus's research programs contributed over $277 million to the economy of the city during the year 2009.
With the Louisiana Purchase in the year 1803, the central Oklahoma area became part of the US. The Creek Nation was relocated to the region now called Norman by the United States Government during the years 1832 to 1833. Creek Nation was one of five Native American tribes that the United States officially recognized via treaty. Before the American Civil War the government of the United States began relocating the tribes to the state of Oklahoma.
The National Weather Center site is in Norman in addition to numerous weather-and climate-related organizations. The NWC is part of a collaborative effort between the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma. The city of Norman is a prime place for a planned National Weather Museum. The public and academic weather research activities within Norman have attracted some private meteorological companies, such as Weathernews Americas, Inc., Vieux and Associates, Inc., Computational Geosciences, Inc., Weather Decision Technologies and WeatherBank, Inc.
Many other private and public scientific ventures are situated in the city of Norman. The renewable energy sector includes the Oklahoma Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council. Bergey Windpower provides small wind turbines and SouthWest NanoTechnologies manufactures carbon nanotubes.
Other industries which contribute to the local economy includes the Norman Regional Health System, Norman Public Schools and Griffin Memorial Hospital. Significant companies comprise AT&T, Hitachi, Albon Engineering, Astellas Pharma Technologies, Xyant Technology, RiskMetrics Group, SITEL, Sysco Corporation and Office Max National Sales Center.