DOE Selects Next Environmental Sciences Division Director
DOE headquarters
DOE
The Department of Energy announced last week that it has selected atmospheric scientist Dorothy Koch to lead its Biological and Environmental Research program. Koch currently directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Program Office and will begin her new appointment on Oct. 23.
Before joining NOAA in 2019, Koch was a program officer for BER, where she managed the Earth System Modeling portfolio and established the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, which leverages DOE’s high-performance computing systems for climate and energy research.
She previously spent 15 years as a researcher at Columbia University and NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, focusing on the impacts of aerosols on climate. She holds a doctorate in geology and geophysics from Yale University.
BER officials Gary Geernaert and Todd Anderson have taken turns leading the program since the previous director, Sharlene Weatherwax, retired in July 2022 after 12 years in the role.
