NASA Names New Chief Scientist

Dr. Waleed Abdalati is NASA’s new chief scientist. He will take on his new role on January 3, 2011.

Abdalati currently is Director of the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder and an associate professor in the University’s geography department. His speciality is polar ice cover and he has worked at NASA in various capacities in the past.

NASA says that as chief scientist he will represent all NASA’s scientific endeavors and ensure they “are aligned with and fulfill the Administrator’s science objectives. He will advocate for NASA science in the context of those broader government science agendas and work closely with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget.”