Jacob M. Steinberg

Before joining GFDL, I was a postdoctoral investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. I completed my PhD at the University of Washington in physical oceanography, where my dissertation focused on ocean mesoscale eddy structure, evolution, and decay using autonomous underwater vehicles — Seaglider and Deepglider. During my time at UW I also earned a master’s degree in applied mathematics, with coursework applying ODE and PDE methods to fluid dynamics problems. My undergraduate degree is a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Maryland, where I focused on water resources, surface and groundwater hydrology, and coastal engineering.

I am particularly interested in how people interact with and perceive the ocean’s role in Earth’s climate. My background in water resources engineering has shaped the way I engage with physical oceanography — I tend to focus on mechanistic relationships that can be revealed through a combination of observations and models. Earlier in my career, deploying gliders from chartered fishing vessels and participating in education and outreach events gave me a deep appreciation for translating science to broader audiences. I think similar connections can be made through data visualization and the intersection of theory and high-performance computing.

Outside of work I enjoy running, climbing, cycling, swimming, reading, brewing coffee, and xc-skiing. Some recent favorite books: Debt: The First 5,000 Years (David Graeber), Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky), A Manual for Cleaning Women (Lucia Berlin), The Power Broker (Robert Caro), The Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy (Liu Cixin), The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin).