NOAA Names First Woman to Direct National Geodetic Survey

NOAA Names First Woman to Direct National Geodetic Survey
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Jan 5, 2009

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has picked Juliana P. Blackwell as director of its Office of National Geodetic Survey, making her the first woman to oversee the nation's spatial reference system.

Blackwell moves into the director's chair after serving for the past three years as chief of the National Geodetic Survey's Observation and Analysis Division, where she supervised a staff of 60 employees responsible for maintaining the nation's spatial reference positioning system. Prior to that assignment she managed NOAA's height modernization program, which has improved the efficiency and accuracy of height information used in surveying, mapping, and modeling nationwide, according to the agency. Blackwell has also served as the National Geodetic Survey's deputy director since August 2008.

Blackwell is also a 1988 graduate of Tufts University, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics. She received a master's in business administration from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2007. She joined NOAA in 1990 as an officer of the NOAA Corps. In her corps career she served on the NOAA ship Ferrel as a junior officer, and as fourth officer on board the NOAA ship Whiting, where she managed hydrographic survey operations prior to joining the National Geodetic Survey full time in 1996.

Blackwell succeeds Dave Zilkoski, who completes a 34-year federal career, all of it in service to NOAA and the geodetic survey, according to the agency. His NOAA service includes the past three years as head of NOAA's Office of National Geodetic Survey. "Juliana brings both experience and a commitment to collaborative partnering with non-NOAA resources to enable NOAA to meet or exceed its goals," he said.

The National Geodetic Survey is part of the National Ocean Service, which is an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department. The Survey is the nation's oldest federal science agency, having been established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast.
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