UA Professor Goes to Washington, D.C.
January 5, 2010 | AZPM
Story by Robert Rappaport
A University of Arizona professor who used to lead a water research institute has begun her new White House position addressing climate change. Katharine L. Jacobs, the former Director of the Arizona Water Institute, now works as the Assistant Director for Climate Adaptation and Assessment out of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Jacobs will collaborate with other federal and state agencies, as well as American Indian tribes, forestry, fisheries, energy, and other industries. One of her first tasks is to prepare a report on the national effects of climate change and to prepare programs to deal with its effects.
"This is a dramatic change for me," Jacobs said. "But I am a hard worker and happy that my experience crossing the boundary between science and policy is valued by the Obama administration."
Jacobs, who is not taking a leave of absence from the UA, is being assigned to NOAA through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program, which allows state and university employees to be temporarily placed in positions within federal government offices.
