Top of GPM graphic - GPM name over a graphic that is half globe and half rain gauge

Content cloud - names of the international agencies (ESA, NASDA, CSA) in the page below and their corresponding flag or emblem

Meet Joan Rolf, NASA International Program Specialist

As an International Program Specialist for NASA, Ms. Rolf is dedicated to facilitating the agency’s communications with foreign countries and regions. In this position, she is responsible for managing all of the international partnerships that will be established during the course of GPM. Ms. Rolf is instrumental in presenting GPM to international parties, ensuring that they understand the purpose, scope and goals of the project. She leads the negotiations that are required to institute international agreements, and guarantees that the roles and expectations of each contract participant are clarified.

In addition to managing GPM’s international partnerships, Ms. Rolf serves as the NASA Team Lead for Japan, China, and Taiwan, overseeing NASA’s relationships in these areas. Ms. Rolf also works on issues relating to NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise and Italy.

Prior to her experience at NASA, Ms. Rolf worked for the United States Department of Commerce, specializing in international negotiations regarding the semiconductor industry. She also lived overseas in Japan and Italy for several years—an experience that provided her with valuable knowledge of foreign policy and culture.

Meet Paul Hwang, GPM's External Interface Development Manager

During his career, Dr. Paul Hwang has amassed a great deal of knowledge and experience, both in the science and international relations fields. After earning his Ph.D. in Meteorology from the St. Louis University in St. Louis, Mo in 1973, Dr. Hwang worked for private industry. Among other ventures, he participated in the first large-scale field experiment conducted by the meteorological community—the Line Island Experiment—which was carried out in 1976. During that experiment, he was stationed on Palmyra Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for three months. While on the island, he was responsible for receiving cloud images from weather satellites, and adding latitude and longitude lines on the cloud pictures. He also took panoramic pictures of tropical clouds every day from the top of a 30-foot tower.

photograph of Paul Hwang in front of a GPM poster

Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Hwang co-founded and served as vice president of a company that specialized in providing near-real-time weather and climate forecasts to clients in specialized industries. While with that startup company, Dr. Hwang developed a system to “tap” into the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s high-speed data line between Washington and Tokyo. He was able to obtain basic meteorological data needed to make the special forecasts his clients required—quite an accomplishment before the advent of the personal computer!

In 1979, Dr. Hwang joined NASA, as a Meteorologist in Goddard Space Flight Center’s Atmospheric Science Lab. Since then, he has worked on a number of programs at Goddard, serving as Central Data Handling Facility Manager for the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) Project, the Science Data and External Interface Manager for the Earth Observing System (EOS) Ground System and Operations Project, and the Operations Manager for the EOS Aqua Project.

In 2001, Dr. Hwang became the External Interface Development Manager for the GPM Formulation Project. He is responsible for facilitating collaboration with international partners and other U.S. agencies, working with NASA Headquarters, and supporting the development of Letters of Agreement and Memoranda of Understanding. He coordinates international meetings, and provides support to all elements of GPM (e.g., engineering, ground system, science, data processing.) as they interface with international partners by means of Interface Control Documents and Operation Agreements, etc.

In fact, Dr. Hwang has been working in the field of international relations since 1990, when the EOS Project was established. He is fascinated by the international nature of GPM, and looks forward to contributing his knowledge and experience to the development of this project.