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NOAA Satellites 2016 Year in Review!

From the launch of Jason-3 and the the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season, to SARSAT rescues and the launch of GOES-16, 2016 was an exciting year for NESDIS! To relive it, watch this video that highlights our major accomplishments of the year, as well as the on-going and varied role that NOAA satellites play in monitoring Earth's climate, environment, weather and space weather.

Here at the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) we provide secure and timely access to global environmental data and information from satellites and other sources to promote and protect the Nation's security, environment, economy, and quality of life.

At NESDIS, we must operate the satellite constellation and ground systems with the continued high-reliability, secure and timely delivery of data and services that the Nation requires.

Dr. Stephen Volz / NESDIS Administrator

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Our Leadership

Photo of Dr. Stephen Volz -- the Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services

Stephen Volz

Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services
Download Dr. Stephen Volz Bio (PDF)

Dr. Volz has 30 years of professional experience in aerospace. He is a leader in the international Earth observation community, serving as the NOAA Principal both to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and to the Coordinating Group of Meteorological Satellites (CGMS). In this capacity he leads efforts to coordinate global satellite-based observations among international space agency partners to further the development of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems. He serves as the Co-Chair of the NOAA Observing Systems Council and is also a member of the NOAA Executive Council. Dr. Volz previously served as the Associate Director for Flight Programs in the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate where he managed all of NASA’s Earth Science flight missions and associated activities.

Prior to serving as the Flight Program Director, Dr. Volz was the Earth Science program executive for a series of Earth Science missions, including EO-3 GIFTS, CloudSat, CALIPSO, and ICESat, and he led the Senior Review for the Earth Science operating missions. Dr. Volz worked in industry at Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation from 1997–2002, where he was the Project Manager for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility superfluid helium cryostat and other flight projects. From 1986–1997 Dr. Volz worked for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center as an instrument manager, an I&T Manager, a systems engineer, and a cryogenic systems engineer on missions and instruments including the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), among others.

Dr. Volz is a member of several professional societies, including the American Physical Society (M’82), the American Astronomical Society (M’87), the American Geophysical Union (M’02), and the American Meteorological Society (M’08). He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), an active member of and participant in the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS), and a member of the GRSS Administration Committee (AdCom) for the period of 2013–2015.

Dr. Volz has a doctorate in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1986), a master’s in Physics from Illinois (1981), and a bachelor’s in Physics from the University of Virginia (1980). He has more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed journals.