Bill Patzert has been a research scientist in oceanography at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, since 1983. He explores the ocean's role in climate variability, seeks to improve climate forecasting using NASA-generated global data in concert with longer, land-based records of temperature and precipitation, and communicates scientific knowledge to the general public through popular articles and media interviews. Patzert also is a member of NASA's Sea Level Change Team. Prior to joining JPL, Patzert was a research oceanographer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.