~ Dr. Gene Feldman ~

Gene Feldman has been an oceanographer at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center since 1985. He helps to produce, archive and distribute satellite-derived ocean color data sets observed by the new ocean color mission called SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing Field Field Sensor). Successfully launched on August 1, 1997, SeaWiFS is a unique mission in a number of aspects, not least of which is the industry/government relationship it has adopted. Gene is responsible for the design, development and operations of the data processing system, which also includes the SeaWiFS satellite receiving station.

The applications of satellite-derived ocean color data range from providing the information needed for a more accurate assessment of the role of the ocean in global change, to providing a key parameter in a number of ecological and environmental studies. The color images of the Earth's changing land and ocean features will be of significant use in fisheries management, agriculture assessment and coastal zone monitoring.

The author and co-author of numerous publications, Gene has also contributed to a large number of programs and projects, including those done by The Jason Project, PBS, the BBC, the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Society, the Cousteau Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. In addition, he has been a member of the U.S. Scientific Steering Committee for the National Science Foundation's Joint Global Ocean Flux Study, a program to study the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle.

Gene is currently on the International Science Advisory Council for the upcoming Coastal Rhythms Exhibition planned for the New England Aquarium, and is involved with the joint NOAA/NASA project studying the Health, Ecological, and Econonic Dimensions of Global Change (HEED).

Since the mid-90s, Gene has been involved in using the World Wide Web and other emerging technologies to reach out to a wider audience. Most recently, Gene has been part of a number of very productive collaborations with the Smithsonian Institution. Working with the Institution's Office of Environmental Awareness, he helped create the Smithsonian's first electronic exhibition, Ocean Planet Online, which has been called one of the most comprehensive and technologically advanced exhibitions of its kind. In appreciation for this work, the Smithsonian Institution awarded Gene the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal.

Gene obtained his Ph.D. in Coastal Oceanography from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He lives in a 100 year-old farmhouse, which gives him the opportunity to ride around on a little tractor, to dig in the dirt, and do death-defying feats with sharp tools.