Who We Are
We are the Nation’s leading authority for environmental data, and manage one of the largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic research in the world. NCEI contributes to the NESDIS mission by developing new products and services that span the science disciplines and enable better data discovery.
Why It Matters
NCEI helps NOAA meet the growing need for high value data by supporting projects like the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act and the NOAA Blue Economy Initiative. Our stewardship practices maximize the organization’s investment in environmental research, converting scientific insights into dynamic, usable information that inform strategy and decision making in government, academia, and the private sector.
Data in Action
NCEI data help businesses and organizations across sectors operate more efficiently, safely, environmentally, and economically.
Data Management
The NCEI archive and backup copy contains more than 37 petabytes of data, equivalent to about 400 million filing cabinets filled with documents.
Industry and Agriculture
U.S. corn farmers used our temperature and precipitation data to strategically deploy fertilizer, saving the industry about $4 billion annually.
NCEI Leadership
Mary S. Wohlgemuth
Director
Mary Wohlgemuth has served as the Director of NCEI since 2017. She provides direction and oversight of the organization’s operations and resources to develop robust, service-centric programs linking environmental information and data stewardship. Prior to joining NCEI, Ms. Wohlgemuth was the Technical Director for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport, where she managed a workforce of more than 5,000 with an annual budget over $1 billion while heading up ventures across research and development, production, and in-service engineering. The role was the last of several directorships in her distinguished 33 year career in the U.S. Navy and Naval Seas Systems Command (NAVSEA).
Joe Pica
Deputy Director
Joe Pica assumed the role of NCEI Deputy Director in 2018 after a three-year stint as Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Observations, where he oversaw data collection operations to ensure accurate, comprehensive national forecasts. Before joining the NWS, Joe served as Commanding Officer of both the Ronald H. Brown and the Okeanos Explorer, respectively the flagship and most technologically advanced vessels in the NOAA fleet. Between sea assignments, he brought operational, technical, and leadership skills to a variety of shore assignments including Deputy Director of the former National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and Executive Director to the Deputy Under Secretary for Operations.
Deke Arndt
Chief, Climatic Science and Services Division
Deke Arndt is the Director of the Climatic Science and Services Division, taking the role in 2020 after serving as the Chief of CWC's Monitoring Section since 2009. Deke’s career began in 1996 at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, and he has worked closely with public safety, agriculture, climate monitoring, and the energy generation and transmission sectors. In recent years, he has served on the Council of the American Meteorological Society, been a co-lead editor of the AMS's annual State of the Climate report, and co-chaired the US Global Change Research Program's Interagency Indicators Working Group.
Scott Hausman
Chief, Information Technology Services Division
Scott Hausman became Chief of NCEI IT services in 2017 after two years as Director of NCEI Data Stewardship. Dr. Hausman previously served as Acting Director and Deputy Director of the former National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and as the Director of the Global Systems Division of the Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL). His 24-year career with the U.S. Air Force included command of the 14th Weather Squadron providing climatological support to the Department of Defense, intelligence community, and other federal agencies.
Eric Kihn
Chief, Oceanographic and Geophysical Science and Services Division
Eric Kihn is the Chief of the Oceanographic and Geophysical Science and Services Division, taking the role in 2018 after serving as acting Director of the NGDC. Over more than 25 years of NOAA service, he has been a researcher, group leader, and professional data manager whose efforts led or contributed to the development of projects like Space Weather Analysis (SWA), and two award-winning analytic systems in the Space Physics Interactive Data Resource and the Environmental Scenario Generator. He heads the World Data Service for Geophysics and actively contributes to the Earth System Information Partners professional organization.
Katy Matthews
Chief, Support Services Division
Katy Matthews is the Chief of NCEI Support Services Division providing the full range of administrative support to NCEI. Previously, she served as the Communications and Outreach Branch (COB) Chief. As COB Chief, she developed and implemented communications, outreach, legislative, and budget formulation activities to increase visibility before key external audiences and build awareness of NCEI’s science and services. Katy has previously served as the NESDIS Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Team Lead, and as an International Relations Specialist in NESDIS Office of International Affairs.
Monica Youngman
Chief, Data Stewardship Division
Monica Youngman joined NCEI as Chief of Data Stewardship in 2018 to manage the growing archive of environmental data under NCEI care. She has led substantial, complex stewardship projects during her 10-year NOAA career, managing data collection, software development, metadata procedures, and archival processes for the National Geodetic Survey office’s multi-million dollar Gravity Program, as well as the Gravity for Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) project.
Locations
NCEI has four national locations, as well as regional centers, field sites, and cooperative institutes throughout the country.
Asheville, North Carolina
Boulder, Colorado
Silver Spring, Maryland
Stennis Space Center, MS
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News
There’s a lot going on at NCEI! Discover more about us and Earth’s climate, oceans, coasts, and geophysics in these featured news stories.
World Data System at NCEI
NCEI hosts World Data Centers and Services as a member of the ICSU World Data System, a collaborative effort to ensure universal, equitable access to environmental data around the world.
NCEI Cooperative Institutes
NOAA partners with academic and nonprofit institutions throughout the country to conduct collaborative research, connect with scientific communities, and sponsor student fellowships.
