Dr. Neil Jacobs is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. In this role, he provides strategic direction and oversight for more than $6 billion in annual spending, including investments in space innovation, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, deep-sea exploration, and numerical weather prediction, while developing industry partnerships to study the oceans, address the seafood trade imbalance, and support U.S. commercial and recreational fishing.

Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Chief Science Advisor for the Unified Forecast System within the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Dr. Jacobs also previously served as both Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction. He has held multiple positions in both the private and academic sectors.

Dr. Jacobs is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the recipient of the Society’s 2023 Kenneth C. Spengler Award for leadership in fostering community collaboration across the weather, water, and climate enterprise. He holds B.S. degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of South Carolina, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in air-sea interaction and numerical weather prediction from North Carolina State University.