Dr. Julie Pullen is an oceanographer and meteorologist in the Marine Meteorology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, studying air-sea interactions in coastal regions and their impact on plumes of chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) contaminants in cities.  She uses high-resolution coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling to synthesize inputs from international, multi-disciplinary research teams in order to understand the dynamics of coastal regions throughout the world. Most recently she was named to a scientific steering committee conducting modeling and measurements (including six oceanographic research cruises) focused on the Philippines.  As part of that effort, she manages and interprets operational ocean and atmosphere forecasts of the region for use in field work planning and execution.

Dr. Pullen pioneered the two-way coupling of a high-resolution mesoscale atmosphere and ocean model for realistic applications in the coastal zone and published several research articles detailing the superior forecasts of both realms that resulted from coupling the models.  This work formed the foundation and motivation for the transition of a state-of-the-art, high-resolution, globally relocatable coupled ocean, atmosphere, and wave model into operational use for diverse applications such as mission planning by the Navy SEALs.  Dr. Pullen helps coordinate and oversee the transition.
She was a principal investigator on a Department of Homeland Security grant to improve prediction of CBR dispersion in New York City by integrating multi-scale modeling of air, sea, and buildings. Additionally, Dr. Pullen was a member of the management team for the midtown Manhattan 2005 tracer release study, the largest of its kind in the U. S. 

As the chair of the Coastal Environment Committee of the American Meteorological Society, she was lead organizer of the 7th Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes that met jointly with the 7th Symposium on the Urban Environment at her initiative.  She is co-chair of the upcoming 2010 Ocean Sciences meeting.

Dr. Pullen was a science fellow at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation where she was a member of the external evaluation committee for the national Top Officials 2 Full Scale Exercise (TOPOFF-2). She received a B.A. from Macalester College, majoring in physics and math, and was the first undergraduate intern at the Santa Fe Institute.  She then completed a master’s degree in applied mathematics at the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in physical oceanography at Oregon State University. 

Julie is married to Dan Kohn, an entrepreneur, and they live in northern California.

She can be reached at www.theworldisyourocean.net and julie@theworldisyourocean.net.