D. James Baker
Encyclopedia
D. James Baker is an American scientist who was trained as a physicist, practiced as an oceanographer, and has held science and management positions in academia, non-profit institutions, and government agencies. He a former Under Secretary of Commerce for Atmosphere and Oceans and Administrator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), and currently Director, Global Carbon Measurement Program, William J. Clinton Foundation working with forestry programs in developing countries with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and at the same time helping alleviate poverty. ^[1]
.
]
Biography
Baker was born in Long Beach, California
. He graduated from Stanford University
with a B.S. degree in physics, and obtained his Ph.D. in experimental physics in 1962 from Cornell University. He was a post-doctoral fellow in oceanography at the University of Rhode Island
under John Knauss, who later preceded Baker as Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of NOAA. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship to work with Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin
at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the University of California on photosynthesis. In 1964, he moved to Harvard University
, where he served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Oceanography. From Harvard, he joined the University of Washington
in 1973, where held a faculty position and co-founded and served as the first Dean of the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. During that period he also served as a group leader for Deep-Sea Physics at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. In 1983, he moved to Washington, D.C. where he served as President of Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Incorporated, managing the international Ocean Drilling Program and coordinating an ocean community effort on oceanography from space with NASA. He was appointed by President William J. Clintonas Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1993 and served until 2001, the longest tenure of any person in that position to date. During that period he also served a co-chair of the interagency Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, an ex-officio member of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, and as the U.S. Whaling Commissioner, as well as serving briefly as Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. In 2002, he became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, established in 1812 and the oldest natural history museum in the western hemisphere . He has served as a science and management consultant to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO of UNESCO
in Paris, France and to the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment in Washington, D.C. He joined the Clinton Foundation in 2007. He currently holds faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware
, and is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for the Analysis of Time Series at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Over almost the last two decades he has been an advisor to former Vice President Al Gore
and he has given advice on the Oscar winning film An Inconvenient Truth
.
Baker has published more than 150 scientific and policy papers, reviews, and reports in oceanography, climate, observation technology, and sustainable development. He has joined oceanographic expeditions to many parts of the world and is the co-holder of a U.S. patent on the design of a deep-sea pressure gauge which was used to make the first deep-sea tide measurement in the Antarctic Ocean. He is the author of the book Planet Earth: The View from Space, which was published by Harvard University Press
.^[2] .
Baker is one of co-founders and first President of The Oceanography Society, an elected member of the American Philosophical Society
, and a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has served as the B. Benjamin Zucker Environmental Fellow at Yale University
. In 2008 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Oceanology International for his "contribution to oceanography and marine science, and in 1998 the Government of India awarded him the Vikram Sarabhai Medal for his "outstanding contributions to space research in developing countries". ^[3] He has been awarded two honorary degrees. He lectures regularly on the subjects of sustainability, climate change, and oceanography, has chaired numerous national and international advisory committees, and has testified frequently to the U.S. Congress.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
(NOAA), and currently Director, Global Carbon Measurement Program, William J. Clinton Foundation working with forestry programs in developing countries with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and at the same time helping alleviate poverty. ^[1]
.
Biography
Baker was born in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. He graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
with a B.S. degree in physics, and obtained his Ph.D. in experimental physics in 1962 from Cornell University. He was a post-doctoral fellow in oceanography at the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
under John Knauss, who later preceded Baker as Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of NOAA. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship to work with Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin
Melvin Calvin
Melvin Ellis Calvin was an American chemist most famed for discovering the Calvin cycle along with Andrew Benson and James Bassham, for which he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He spent most of his five-decade career at the University of California, Berkeley.- Life :Calvin was born...
at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the University of California on photosynthesis. In 1964, he moved to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Oceanography. From Harvard, he joined the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1973, where held a faculty position and co-founded and served as the first Dean of the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. During that period he also served as a group leader for Deep-Sea Physics at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. In 1983, he moved to Washington, D.C. where he served as President of Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Incorporated, managing the international Ocean Drilling Program and coordinating an ocean community effort on oceanography from space with NASA. He was appointed by President William J. Clinton
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in Paris, France and to the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment in Washington, D.C. He joined the Clinton Foundation in 2007. He currently holds faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania,
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
, and is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for the Analysis of Time Series at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Over almost the last two decades he has been an advisor to former Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and he has given advice on the Oscar winning film An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
.
Baker has published more than 150 scientific and policy papers, reviews, and reports in oceanography, climate, observation technology, and sustainable development. He has joined oceanographic expeditions to many parts of the world and is the co-holder of a U.S. patent on the design of a deep-sea pressure gauge which was used to make the first deep-sea tide measurement in the Antarctic Ocean. He is the author of the book Planet Earth: The View from Space, which was published by Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
.^[2]
Baker is one of co-founders and first President of The Oceanography Society, an elected member of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, and a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has served as the B. Benjamin Zucker Environmental Fellow at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. In 2008 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Oceanology International for his "contribution to oceanography and marine science, and in 1998 the Government of India awarded him the Vikram Sarabhai Medal for his "outstanding contributions to space research in developing countries". ^[3]