Dr. Thomas Auligné is the Director of the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA), a research center based on a multi-agency partnership between NOAA, NASA, the U.S. Navy and Air Force. He is responsible for the mission to accelerate and improve the quantitative use of satellite data in weather, ocean, climate and environmental analysis and prediction systems. Before joining the JCSDA in 2015, Dr. Auligné has held research scientist positions at National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), and Météo-France. Dr. Auligné earned a M.S. in Meteorology and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics in Toulouse, France. His main topics of interest are data assimilation, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, Earth system prediction, and improving transition from research to operations.