David Vallee is the Hydrologist-in-Charge of the National Weather Service’s Northeast River Forecast Center. The center provides detailed water resource and life-saving flood forecasting services to National Weather Service Forecast Offices and the hundreds of federal, state and local water resource entities throughout the Northeast and New York. David has worked for the National Weather Service for 30 years, serving in a variety of positions including Senior Service Hydrologist at the Taunton Weather Forecast Office from 1993-2000 and as Science and Operations Officer from 2001-2006.

Mr. Rutkowski retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1985 with 33 years of federal service. He served as Deputy Diving Coordinator. He was founder and director of the NOAA Diving/Hyperbaric Training and Diver Treatment Facility from 1973 to 1985 where hundreds of divers have been treated. He also served as co-director for the NOAA/UHMS three week physicians diving and hyperbaric medical training program for the past 21 years.

Don DeMaria – Commercial Fisherman/Diver

Interview with Don Field – NOAA NCCOS Research Ecologist

Doug Whiteley is the Division Chief of the Research to Operations and Project Planning Division (ROPPD). As Chief of ROPPD, Doug oversees pre-formulation and early formulation for new satellite systems as well as the execution of studies for project alternatives, such as foreign partnerships leveraging data and/or instrument exchanges, small-sats, payload hosting, commercial alternatives, and technology maturation to identify specific potential solutions to NESDIS top-level requirements.

On September 18, 2024, Eve Austin interviewed Dr. Dwayne Meadows remotely via Zoom for the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami oral history project. Born in 1966 and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Meadows developed an early passion for marine biology through competitive swimming and scuba diving. He pursued a degree in biology at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by a PhD at Oregon State University, where he studied coral reef fish in Panama.

Eddie Bernard, born in 1946 in Houston, Texas, is a renowned tsunami expert with a significant career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Raised in Beaumont, Texas, Bernard's family history traces back to their migration from Canada to Louisiana. His early interest in science and natural disasters, particularly tsunamis, propelled him towards a career in oceanography. Influenced by his high school teachers, Bernard pursued higher education at Lamar University, where he cultivated his passion for oceanography and met his future wife.

Dr. Edward Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1950.  Johnson attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his undergraduate and graduate education, earning his PhD in Civil Engineering in 1978.  He came to work for the National Weather Service Office of Hydrology, Hydrologic Research Laboratory as a research hydrologist in 1978.  In 1999, Mr. Johnson served as director of Strategic Planning and Policy for the National Weather Service and retired in 2015.  

Scope and Content Note

Dr. Ed Rappaport was born in 1957 in Southern California. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.  Ed then received his Ph.D. with an emphasis in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech University.  Dr. Rappaport began at NHC as a post-doctoral fellow for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Dr. Elbert "Joe" Friday, Jr. was born in De Queen, Arkansas, in 1939.  Elbert graduated from high school in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he studied engineering physics and graduated in 1961.  Upon graduation, Joe received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force and went on to complete his master's and PhD in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.  Friday served for 20 years in the Air Force, including a tour in Vietnam as Weather Detachment Commander.