Kate Moran

Dr. Kate Moran served a two-year term as assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in Washington, DC. In her White House role, Moran advised the Obama administration on oceans, the Arctic and global warming. She was seconded to the position from a faculty appointment at the University of Rhode Island where she was a professor of oceanography and associate dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography. Most recently, Dr. Moran was appointed President and CEO of Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), for a five-year term commencing in July 2012.

Dr. Moran holds degrees in marine science and engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Rhode Island, and Dalhousie University. Her research focuses on marine geotechnics and its application to the study of paleoceanography, tectonics and seafloor stability. She has led several major oceanographic expeditions, including the first drilling expedition to the Arctic Ocean in 2004. The following year she led the first expedition to find the source of the earthquake that caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. She has also made major contributions to the assessment of hazards in Canada’s offshore regions. Dr. Moran has authored more than 45 publications.

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