Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Committee and Staff Biographies
COMMITTEE
John A. Orcutt (Chair)
is a distinguished professor of geophysics at the University of California,
San Diego. Dr. Orcutt earned a B.S. in mathematics and physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, an
M.Sc. in physical chemistry as a Fulbright Scholar from the University of Liverpool, and a Ph.D.
in geophysics from the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
His research focuses on cyberinfrastructure and geophysical applications; geophysical studies
of ocean seismo-acoustics including rough sealoor scattering, acoustic-elastic interactions, and
the use of small arrays; structure of the elastic earth using seismology, synthetic seismograms,
and geophysical inverse theory; internal structure of ocean spreading centers; genesis of the
oceanic lithosphere; and nuclear test-ban veriication methods. Dr. Orcutt is a past president
of the American Geophysical Union and a Secretary of the Navy/Chief of Naval Operations
Oceanography Chair. He is a member of the American Philosophical Society and served briely
as Interim President of the Ocean Drilling Program in 2000. Dr. Orcutt is a former member of the
Ocean Studies Board and has served on numerous National Research Council (NRC) commit-
tees, including the Ocean Studies Board's (OSB's) Committee on Exploration of the Seas.
Martha R. Grabowski (Vice-chair)
is McDevitt Associate Chair of Information Systems,
chair of the Business Administration Department, professor and director of the information
systems program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, as well as research professor in
the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Grabowski earned an M.B.A., an M.S. in engineering, and a Ph.D. in management and infor-
mation systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. from the U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy. A licensed former merchant oficer and retired LCDR in the U.S. Naval Reserve, her
research focuses the impact of technology in safety-critical systems, risk analysis and risk miti-
gation in large-scale systems, the role of human and organizational error in high consequence
settings, and inancial cybersecurity in complex, heterogeneous data environments. A member
of the American Bureau of Shipping, Dr. Grabowski is a former chair of the NRC's Marine Board,
a former member of the NRC's standing Committee on Human Factors, and has served on nu-
merous NRC committees. She is currently chairing the Committee on Naval Engineering in the
21st Century and chaired the Committee Evaluating Shipboard Display of Automated Identii-
cation Systems. She received the Lifetime National Associate Award from the NRC in 2003.
Brian Atwater
is a geologist employed by the U.S. Geological Survey and based at the Uni-
versity of Washington. Dr. Atwater earned a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Delaware.
