David G. DeWitt, Ph.D., is the new director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC), based in College Park, Md. As director, DeWitt will lead the National Weather Service’s efforts to provide forecasts on timescales from weeks to seasons, and to better understand and forecast short-term climate fluctuations such as El Niño/La Niña and their impacts. The CPC is one of nine centers that comprise NOAA‘s National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
“DeWitt’s leadership and collaboration skills coupled with his knowledge of seasonal forecasting and short-term climate variability will allow him to effectively steer the agency forward," said William M. Lapenta, Ph.D., director of NOAA‘s National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “Improving our ability to predict, monitor, and diagnose the impacts of short-term climate variability is an important step in our efforts to build a Weather Ready Nation.”
DeWitt, 47, joined NOAA’s National Weather Service in 2012 as the lead modeler within the Science Plans Branch of the Office of Science and Technology. During his tenure, he served a detail as the acting deputy director for NCEP’s Environmental Modeling Center, and as a project manager for Sandy Supplemental resourced projects, which will accelerate development of NOAA’s foundational numerical guidance for weather prediction. David has provided leadership on several National Weather Service and NOAA cross-line office activities targeted toward improving NOAA’s products and services.
Prior to coming to NOAA, DeWitt worked as a research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia University from 1999-2012. While at IRI, DeWitt led a team of scientists in the development of seasonal climate forecasts and prototype decision support systems for the application of climate information in the fields of agriculture, health, and water resources.
From 1994-1999, DeWitt worked at the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies developing coupled atmosphere-ocean models for seasonal forecasts and conducting research to better understand short-term climate variability.
DeWitt received his Bachelor of Arts (1989) degree in meteorology from Kean University, Union, N. J., and his Master (1992) and Ph.D. (1994) degrees in meteorology from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, and is a leading expert on short-term climate forecasting and diagnostics, and coupled model development. He served as an executive editor of Climate Dynamics, and as a member of the World Climate Research Program Working Group on Seasonal to Interannual Prediction.
A native of Matawan, N.J., DeWitt is a resident of Bowie, Md. He started in his new position on Nov. 30.
For more information please, contact Maureen O'Leary, 301-247-9000.
