27 January 2010  •  Roger Wakimoto, an associate director and senior scientist at NCAR, was named the center's new director on 26 January. He will assume his new position on 1 February. Wakimoto succeeds Eric Barron, who left NCAR this month to assume the presidency of Florida State University.

"Roger is a world-class scientist and administrator with broad knowledge of both the atmospheric sciences and the university community that NCAR serves," says UCAR president Richard Anthes. "I am are very pleased to have him at the helm of NCAR."

Roger Wakimoto.

A geophysicist with expertise in tornadoes, thunderstorms, and other types of severe weather, Wakimoto has served as director since 2005 of NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL), which oversees instrument development and major field projects. He has most recently guided the development of a major workforce management plan for NCAR. Wakimoto came to NCAR after 22 years at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a professor of atmospheric sciences for more than a decade and also chaired the department.

"I am both excited and honored to take on the challenge of building on the organization's expertise and leading it in new and potentially exciting directions," Wakimoto says. "NCAR is in a strong position to help meet the nation's growing demand for research into weather and climate change."

EOL deputy director Sue Schauffler will serve as acting director while a search for a new EOL director is conducted.

For more details on Wakimoto's appointment, see the NCAR news release.

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