Senior Research Scientist, California Institute of Technology/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dr. David Halpern is Senior Advisor for earth science research at NASA Headquarters while on loan from his position as Senior Research Scientist at the California Institute of Technology/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In his previous position as Senior Policy Analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, his areas of responsibility were climate change and oceans. Dr. Halpern was founding co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council’s Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology, at which he had a leadership role in establishing the national governance of ocean activities including the US Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy. He has chaired many national and international committees, including the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Group of Experts on Scientific Matters, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research Coastal Upwelling Panel, the World Climate Research Program Pacific Ocean Climate Studies Panel, and the Group on Earth Observations Science and Technology Committee. He is past Chair and current Secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Section. He has been a visiting or adjunct professor at University of California at Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and University of Washington and currently is adjunct professor at the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Halpern pioneered the measurement of near-surface ocean currents and surface winds in shallow and deep-water regions, including the highly challenging equatorial Pacific. His research focused on ocean circulation and ocean-atmosphere interactions using in-situ and satellite measurements, and he served as Chief Scientist on many cruises in the Atlantic and Pacific. His current interest is the intersection of ocean science and public policy. Dr. Halpern published 292 articles, is editor for ocean sciences for Eos and was editor for ocean sciences for Geophysical Research Letters. He has received many awards, including the US Department of Commerce Silver Medal, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, and has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advance of Science, American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, California Academy of Sciences, and International Academy of Astronautics. Dr. Halpern received his B.Sc. (Honours) in geology and physics from McGill University and Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
