Kate Moran, associate dean of our Graduate School of Oceanography, now sits in an office across the street from the White House. As a senior policy analyst, she provides guidance to President Barack Obama on issues related to oceans, the Arctic, and climate change. Her two-year appointment to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President began this summer.

Moran’s research focuses on marine geotechnics and its application to the study of paleoceanography and seafloor stability. She led an international research expedition to collect core samples from deep beneath the seafloor near the North Pole that revealed a 55 million-year record of climate changes in the Arctic. She also led the first research expedition to find the source of the earthquake that caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

A leading voice in communicating the threat the world faces from global climate change, Moran has spoken locally, nationally, and internationally on the subject and has written articles to educate skeptics about the importance of taking immediate action.

“I’m passionate about doing something about climate change, and I know that the way the world changes is through policy,” said the oceanographer.

Photo by Nora Lewis.