SAMUEL P. WILLIAMSON
Federal Coordinator for Meteorology

Mr. Samuel P. Williamson is the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research. He is accountable to the U.S. Congress and the Office of Management and Budget for systematic coordination and cooperation among 15 Federal Departments and Agencies with meteorology programs to ensure the Federal Government provides the best possible weather information and user services. He directs the analysis and evaluation of Federal weather programs, operational requirements and supporting research to facilitate executive and legislative funding decisions for over $3.3 billion annually. He reports directly to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, who is also the chairperson of the Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (FCMSSR).

Mr. Williamson chairs the Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (ICMSSR) and serves as a member and principal advisor to the FCMSSR and the Committee for the Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) of the National Science and Technology Council. Mr. Williamson began his career as a Weather Officer in the United States Air Force Air Weather Service and has served the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in numerous positions for over 29 years.

For the 1996-1997 academic year, Mr. Williamson was a visiting Executive Fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government where he studied and researched national security issues that involved science, technology, and public policy.

As a Senior Staff Associate for the National Science Foundation, Mr. Williamson enhanced science education. As a Senior Science Advisor to the Committee on Science of the United States House of Representatives, he helped shape the legislative agenda for science, space, and technology policy.

For more than 12 years, Mr. Williamson was the principal planner of the Tri-departmental Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) Program from the conception through the initial deployment of the Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR-88D), Doppler Weather Radar System.  He directed the NEXRAD Joint System Program Office where he was instrumental in the design, development, test, manufacture, and initial deployment of the WSR-88D. The deployment of the WSR-88D vastly improved the Nation's detection and warning capability of impending hazardous weather phenomena and was the first major system development and acquisition program among three executive Federal departments: Commerce, Defense, and Transportation.

His education credentials include Bachelors of Science Degrees in mathematics and meteorology from Tennessee State University and North Carolina State University, a Master of Arts degree in management from Webster University, and post graduate studies in engineering technology management at American University.