OPeNDAP Team and Board

James is one of the developers of the Data Access Protocol (DAP) protocol and is a co-founder of OPeNDAP. Before that he worked on the Distributed Oceanographic Data System (DODS) project, along with Peter Cornillon, Glenn Flierl and George Milkowski. The DODS project developed the initial versions of the DAP and its core software implementation. He assumed the role of OPeNDAP president in 2015. James works on all aspects of the OPeNDAP software and is the engineering and architectural lead for the DAP-4 specification. He is also the author of numerous publications on scientific data access and management.

Dan started working with the DAP in 1995 with the development of the JGOFS handler for the DODS project. He is one of the co-founders of OPeNDAP and handles much of the administration of the organization.

Nathan started working as a DAP developer in 1997 completing a Java language implementation of the DAP 2 specification. Later he developed the OLFS component of the Hyrax server. Currently he is working on Hyrax and the DAP4 specification.

Kodi began working for OPeNDAP in 2018 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Montana Tech. He has worked on multiple systems within the backend server of Hyrax. Kodi has worked with several organizations such as NASA and Virginia Tech to modify the Hyrax software to fit the requirements needed by these institutions. He is currently a software engineer and developer at OPeNDAP, as well as the Scrum Master for OPeNDAP.

Sam started working with OPeNDAP in 2019 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Montana Tech. Since then, he has worked on the backend server of Hyrax, as well as on independent software used to monitor Hyrax servers for outages and failures. Most recently, he has worked on developing two separate pieces of testing software in python that are used to check the health and availability of data files that the Hyrax server serves to users.

Miguel joined OPeNDAP in February 2024. Previous to working at OPeNDAP, Miguel held a researcher appointment at Johns Hopkins University, where he was a member of the Poseidon Project–an exascale community ocean modeling effort–and a lead developer of OceanSpy. Miguel’s research interest lies in multi-scale oceanic tracer mixing which he studies through idealized mathematical modeling, and its parameterization in low resolution climate models. Miguel holds a PhD in Oceanography and a MSc in applied mathematics, both from the University of Washington. At OPeNDAP Miguel leads the community engagement program and software development.

David Fulker is a prominent figure in the field of open-access earth science data. He is widely recognized for his significant contributions through his leadership roles in organizations like OPeNDAP and the Unidata project at UCAR. His leadership and expertise were instrumental in shaping OPeNDAP’s mission and establishing it as a key player in the open-science movement. Dr. Fulker’s pioneering efforts in creating accessible and standardized data infrastructure have had a lasting impact on the earth science community. His work with Unidata and OPeNDAP has empowered researchers with efficient tools to access and analyze critical data, ultimately contributing to significant advancements in our understanding of the Earth’s climate and weather systems.

Peter received his PhD in Experimental High Energy Physics from Cornell University in 1973. Dr. Cornillon began working on distributed data systems in 1992. As a co-founder of OPeNDAP, his group eventually developed the OPeNDAP data access protocol designed to facilitate access to oceanographic data on the web. In 2007 he shifted the focus of his research from data systems back to remote sensing and currently has an active program in the analysis of sea surface temperature fronts identified in satellite-derived SST fields of the global ocean. Peter was a long-time faculty member at University of Rhode Island, and is now Emeritus Professor of Oceanography there. Peter has been on the Board since 2000.

James holds a PhD in Geography from the University of California–Santa Barbara. He recently retired from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he established himself as a leading figure in the field of environmental informatics. His career has been marked by significant contributions to the integration of computer science, information science, and Earth sciences for environmental research and management.

Scott is a Research Associate at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at University of Colorado. Scott’s research interests include hydrology, geomorphology, modeling, and grid-based computational methods.. Scott has authored numerous, open-source, earth surface process models including a spatially-distributed hydrologic model called TopoFlow and a fluvial landscape evolution model called Erode. He is also CEO and founder of Rivix, LLC which sells a software product for terrain and watershed analysis called RiverTools. Scott joined the OPeNDAP Board in 2024.

See above.

See above.