Dr. Neil Jacobs is the Chief Science Advisor for the community Unified Forecast System, part of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s (UCAR) Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science and hosted at North Carolina State University. 

 

Dr. Jacobs previously served as both Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, where he was responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of $6 billion in annual spending, including key investments in space innovation, remotely-piloted autonomous systems, and the development of a community modeling framework to advance U.S. weather and climate prediction, while unlocking the partnership potential of non-governmental and private organizations to study the oceans and promote a blue economy.  

 

Prior to his role as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Dr. Jacobs was the Chief Atmospheric Scientist at Panasonic Avionics Corporation, where he directed the research and development of both the aviation weather observing platforms and modeling programs.

 

He is a Fellow of the American Meteorology Society and the recipient of the Society’s 2023 Kenneth C. Spengler Award for leadership in fostering community collaboration across the weather, water, and climate enterprise. His areas of expertise include numerical weather prediction, oceanic and atmospheric in-situ and space-based observing systems, environmental and economic policy, and strategic innovation related to public-private-academic partnerships and early-stage startup companies. Dr. Jacobs holds BS degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of South Carolina and MS and PhD degrees in air-sea interaction and numerical weather prediction from North Carolina State University.