Neil Jacobs
Neil Andrew Jacobs, Jr. (born December 12, 1973) is an American scientist and former government official who served as the acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Early life and education Jacobs was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, in mathematics and physics, from the University of South Carolina in 1997, followed by a Master of Science and PhD in atmospheric science from North Carolina State University. Career Industry After completing his doctoral degree in 2005, Jacobs went to work with North Carolina-based AirDat LLC to work on the development of their TAMDAR (Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting) weather monitoring system as their director of research and business development. He stayed on with the company when the company was acquired by Panasonic Avionics Corporation in 2013. At Panasonic, he served as chief atmospheric scientist from 2013 until he was asked by President Trump to join the government in 2018. During his time at AiRDat and Panasonic, Jacobs also worked on a small team of atmospheric scientists at World Meteorological Organization and served as chair of the American Meteorological Society's Forecast Improvement Group. Government