RELEASE NO: 99-081

Dr. Milton Halem, has assumed the position of Assistant Director for Information Sciences, at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

In this new position, Dr. Halem will be responsible for increasing the strategic focus across the center in the mission critical area of Information Science and Technology. In addition, he will serve as the Chief Information Officer of the Center responsible for the underlying networking and information systems infrastructure.

Halem, prior to accepting this new position, was Chief of the Earth and Space Data Computing Division at Goddard. The division manages and operates the NASA Center for Computational Sciences, a scientific supercomputing and mass data storage center, available on a national basis to NASA-supported university scientists in the space and Earth science disciplines. In addition, the division conducts the NASA High Performance Computing and Communications Program for Earth and Space Sciences, as well as research in advanced information systems, high data rate communications and scientific visualization.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he acquired his bachelor's degree in mathematics from City College of New York and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University in 1968.

Halem has worked for NASA since 1971, where he began as a Senior Mathematical Analyst with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

In 1977, he came to Goddard where he served as project scientist on the Global Atmospheric Research Program and as the Head of the Global Modeling and Simulation Branch. Under his leadership, the branch developed one of the world's foremost atmospheric general circulation models leading to major scientific contributions in assessing and improving the impact of satellite observing systems for weather forecasting and for establishing the physical basis for climate prediction.

Since joining NASA, Halem was instrumental in bringing supercomputers to Goddard, most recently, the SGI Cray T3E, along with a mass data storage and delivery system that comprises one of the world's most powerful scientific data intensive computing complexes.

His personal scientific achievements include numerous scientific publications on atmospheric and oceanographic modeling. He is most noted for his exploratory research in simulation studies of the impact of space observing systems on weather forecasting and climate simulation and in more recent years for his works in the area of information sciences.

Over the years, his achievements have earned him numerous awards, in particular, the "Goddard Exceptional Performance Award" in 1974 and 1978; the "NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement" in 1979; the "NASA Certificate for Outstanding Performance" in 1982; the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership in 1990, the "NASA Medal for Equal Employment Opportunity" in 1992, a Group Achievement Award for the HPCC Cooperative Agreement Notice Team in 1995, a number of peer awards, and in 1996 received NASA’s highest award, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Halem is married to Myra Lippman and they live in Silver Spring, Md. They have four children and soon to have eight grandchildren.