Joint Polar Satellite System
From our global observations to your local weather forecast
Gregory Mandt has overall responsibility for the JPSS Program. In this role, he oversees the development, acquisition, integration, installation, and acceptance of major system elements (spacecraft, instruments, launch services and ground systems) for JPSS satellites. Before coming to JPSS, he served as System Program Director for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) program for nine years, culminating in the successful launch of the GOES-16 satellite in November 2016.
Previously, Mandt served as Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Science and Technology, where he was responsible for science and engineering planning, the acquisition and refresh of critical technologies, and the scientific developments of the Meteorological Development Laboratory. His previous assignments at NWS included Director of the Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services from 2000 to 2005 and Chief of the Science Branch, Office of Meteorology, from 1996 to 2000.
Mandt also served as the Program Manager and Lead Engineer for the NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) Program from 1992 to 1996.
During his 14 year tenure as an officer in the United States Air Force, Mandt held several management and executive-level positions, including Acquisition Manager of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP); Executive Officer for the Space Systems Division; Chief of the Spacecraft Engineering Branch, DMSP Program Office; Research Engineer in the Flight Dynamics Laboratory; and Flight Test Engineer.
Mandt holds Master of Science degrees in Systems Engineering and Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Mechanics from the United States Air Force Academy and is also a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College Program Management Course.
Tim Walsh is the NOAA deputy program director of the JPSS program, collaborating with the JPSS director in every aspect of the program to ensure its successful implementation. He has served in this role since late 2018.
Prior to joining JPSS, Walsh served as the acting program director for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R Series (GOES-R) program through the launch of the GOES-S (now called GOES-17) satellite in March 2018.
Previously, Walsh served as the deputy project manager for the GOES-R Flight project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. In this role, Walsh supported the development, integration and test, and launch and checkout of the GOES-R flight segment, which is comprised of six instrument payloads and the spacecraft.
Before joining GOES-R in 2005, Walsh was manager of the NOAA Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) in Suitland, Maryland, where he led NOAA flight operations for 15 GOES, POES and DMSP satellites. Walsh joined NOAA in 1996 and supported the SOCC as engineering branch chief, where he supported operations for the GOES and POES constellations, and helped transfer operations of the DMSP constellation from the U.S. Air Force to NOAA.
Before joining NOAA, Walsh supported a number of NASA missions, including the launch and check out of the GOES-8 and GOES-9 spacecraft as a member of the GOES Mission Operations Support Team and the development and test of small transportable transmitters for the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) program.
Previous to working at NASA, Walsh supported the development of multiple projects for air traffic and fire-control radar, electronic warfare and strategic communications systems.
Walsh earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Duke University in 1987, and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1996.
Walsh received the NOAA Bronze Medal and a NASA Agency Honor Award for leadership for his contributions to the successful GOES-S launch campaign.
Grofic has served NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for more than 35 years. During that time, she has held positions of increasing responsibility in computer programming, software project management, branch- and division-level line management, systems engineering and program management.
She was previously the Assistant Director for Program Support in the Sciences and Exploration Directorate, and before that the Program Systems Manager for NASA’s Earth Systematic Missions (ESM) Program.
Earlier, she served as the Program Systems Engineer for the GOES-R Program, a Deputy Division Chief of the Information Systems Division, Branch Chief of the Earth Sciences Missions Engineering Branch, and head of the Real-Time Software Engineering Branch.
She also led the Hubble Space Telescope Ground System Development through three servicing missions.
Longenecker has been with NOAA since 1992, when he joined the NOAA Corps from the US Navy. After retiring in 2012 with more than 29 years of active duty in the uniformed service, Longenecker took a civilian job with the Office of Program Planning and Integration, serving as Chief of Staff. Within a year, he was asked to assume the role of Acting Chief Financial Officer of the National Weather Service, and his understanding of appropriation law and financial management was deemed an asset to the agency.
Prior to assuming the duties at JPSS, Longenecker was the Chief of the Budget Execution and Operations Division for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. In this role, he managed the execution of more than $6 billion across all NOAA offices. He is the proud recipient of two NOAA Administrator Awards.
Longenecker holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University and masters certificates from George Washington University in Project Management and Government Contracting.
Dr. Goldberg serves as an independent expert and representative of the science and user communities responsible for ensuring the scientific integrity of JPSS products at all stages of development, operation and exploitation. Prior to his position at JPSS, Dr. Goldberg served as Chief of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division (SMCD), where he led the development of new algorithms and applications for NOAA’s next generation operational satellite systems. Dr. Goldberg oversaw the research and development of high quality calibrated observations and products, as well as activities to expand the use of satellite data for monitoring global meteorological, environmental and climatological conditions.
Dr. Goldberg serves as the chair of the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Global Space-based InterCalibration System (GSICS). He is also the co-chair of the International TOVS (TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder) Working Group, and the NESDIS science representative to the Coordination Group on Meteorological Satellites (CGMS).
Since joining NOAA in 1990, Dr. Goldberg has received three Gold Medals, one Silver Medal and three Bronze Medals from the Department of Commerce, and the NOAA Administrator’s Award for leadership in developing the international GSICS. An active alumnus of the University of Maryland, Dr. Goldberg was honored with the University of Maryland’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Most Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004.
Dr. Goldberg earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University, and Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland. His scientific expertise is in developing algorithms to derive atmospheric soundings of temperature and water vapor from microwave and infrared sounders.
José M. Davis has overall responsibility for managing the integrated NOAA-NASA Program Systems Engineering (PSE) team. In this role, he has end-to-end responsibility for requirements and performance of the entire JPSS, ensuring the integrity of the technical baseline, which includes concepts of operation, architecture, external interfaces and requirements. He joined NOAA in 2012, after 29 years with NASA.
Dr. Davis served as Lead for Engineering Standards and Processes in the Chief Engineer’s Office of the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), supporting the Chief Engineer and serving as point of contact for selected programs and projects within the Agency and at GRC. He was a member of the 2006 –2007 class of the NASA Leadership Development Program (LDP), completing assignments at NASA Headquarters as a Senior Safety Manager in the Mission Support Division of the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. In this role, he supported both the Constellation and Space Shuttle Programs; and served as a Senior Engineer in the Advanced Planning and Analysis Division of the Office of the Chief Engineer. Throughout his career, Dr. Davis has served as a project engineer, supervisor, team lead, project manager, and systems engineer.
Dr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, and Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Industrial Engineering from Cleveland State University. He has also attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Brookings Institution. He has received several NASA individual and team awards.