GISS Director Katherine Calvin Tapped as NASA Chief Scientist, Senior Climate Adviser

NASA has appointed Katherine Calvin as chief scientist and senior climate adviser.

In her new role, Calvin will serve as the principal adviser to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other agency leaders on science programs, strategic planning and policy. She will also represent the space agency’s objectives and contributions to the international community.

Calvin’s appointment follows the retirement of chief scientist Jim Green and acting senior climate adviser Gavin Schmidt. Green served for over four decades before retiring on Jan. 1 while Schmidt served in an acting capacity since the senior climate adviser role was created in February 2021 to meet the Biden administration’s climate science objectives for the space agency. Calvin will continue to serve as the director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, NASA said.

Before joining the organization, Calvin served an earth scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She worked on the Global Change Analysis Model, a system that looks at the relationship between human and Earth systems. She also managed the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model.

The NASA official holds a master’s and doctorate degree in management, science and engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Maryland.