Sterling, Virginia, United States
Guillermo has demonstrated leadership, efficiency, and innovation for over 30 years in science and tech use-inspired research ideation, implementation and management, as well as in policy analysis, strategic planning, and when creating and developing cross-sectoral and international partnerships. He has trained, mentored, and lectured hundreds of professionals and students, from scientific topics and leadership to partnership building, and geophysical fluid dynamics. Guillermo spearheaded many interdisciplinary partnerships, including an award-winning interagency, public-private, international project, and two oceanographic studies with nine nations. He then compiled these experiences and lessons learned as the lead editor of a book on partnerships in marine science. Earlier, he used observational data and models to address many ocean science problems relevant to fisheries, climate, and offshore energy. He is an Arctic expert having created a think-tank that unified Arctic science perspectives across nations and disciplines. Guillermo is the Senior Research Coordinator and Scientific Integrity Officer of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the former chief of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s branch of physical and chemical sciences, where he arrived after being in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography faculty for over a decade. His passion for science has taken him beyond oceanography and into the field of complex systems to tackle questions on efficient natural resource management, the blue economy, complex social systems, and the future Arctic. Earlier, he was one of the US government’s lead reviewers of the 5th IPCC Report and co-authored the third National Climate Assessment. Currently, Guillermo works on research coordination and integrity in support of the Nation's offshore energy supply processes. He received his PhD in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
I work in identifying, coordinating, developing, and monitoring the direction of the agency's comprehensive efforts to drive scientific use-inspired research initiatives and assist in the processes supporting offshore safety decisions. I also advise the Director and the Department on science while supporting efforts related to compliance with broader guidance relevant to scientific research, including scientific integrity, peer-review and information quality, to improve resiliency and efficiency. I represent my bureau in the highest scientific body of the Department of the Interior, and before several interagency committees, councils and working groups.
I oversee a diverse staff of senior scientists and technicians whose expertise include physical oceanography (including marine acoustics), oil spill risk analysis, marine chemistry and air quality. I am actively engaged in national and international efforts related to Arctic science and policy, environmental impacts of offshore energy and mineral development and the integration of use-inspired science and policy for informed decision-making. I also represent the bureau and department before several national and international forums including the Belmont Forum, the interagency arctic research policy committee (IARPC), and the US AON Board of Directors. I regularly coordinate activities from these disciplines with biological and social research emanating from a sister branch, to help integrate new findings and results with existing knowledge. Recent work has focused on program analysis using socio-ecological resilience as a goal for effective resource management. This required integration of governance, science, decision-analysis tools, policy and legal considerations among other aspects is synthesized in: https://osf.io/preprints/marxiv/nurca/
Advisor to senior Bureau and Departmental officials on science policy Arctic matters. Bureau and Department representation at interagency and international forums. Creation, oversight and management of scientific, use-inspired research projects used for informing decisions on offshore energy (leasing and permitting for oil & gas and renewable energy exploration and development). Development of environmental management frameworks and strategic methodologies including policy, governance, decision-informing approaches, conceptualizations and legal considerations. Creation and implementation of inter-agency, public-private, and international partnerships on ocean sustainability and integration of pan-Arctic perspectives, with several other nations. Chairing interagency working group and member of numerous proposal review (federal and non-federal) panels.
Oversight, creation and management of multi-disciplinary research projects. Creation of partnerships and agency representation at different forums and committees. Member of several (federal and non-federal) proposal review panels. Board of Directors member for U.S. AON and Steering Committee member of modeling center, and lead editor for North America of international scientific Journal. Contributing author to the 3rd National Climate Assessment. and Lead Reviewer for the U.S. Government of the 2014 IPCC report.
Led many research projects combining models and ocean observations; creation, planning, funding, data acquisition and analysis, publication of findings. Funded by several federal and state agencies, by Japanese and Italian agencies, and by international consortiums. Co-created and launched first online fisheries outlook for the Southern California Bight. First dynamical classification of the California Current layers, and first energetic analysis of the California Current using an eddy resolving model; First separation of decadal and interdecal modes in the North Pacific ocean and association to different drivers; First to show that the 76-77 climate shift in the North Pacific ocean had same dynamics as the warming shift that ended the last glacial maximum; Discovery of new tributary flow to the California Current using Argo observations; A 2008 seminar was televised to a potential audience of 27 millions households in the US.
Led many research projects combining models and ocean observations; creation, planning, funding, data acquisition and analysis, publication of findings. Funded by several federal and state agencies, by Japanese and Italian agencies, and by international consortiums. Co-created and launched first online fisheries outlook for the Southern California Bight. First dynamical classification of the California Current layers, and first energetic analysis of the California Current using an eddy resolving model; First separation of decadal and interdecadal modes in the North Pacific ocean and association to different drivers; First to show that the 76-77 climate shift in the North Pacific ocean had same dynamics as the warming shift that ended the last glacial maximum; First estimation of diabatic and adiabatic heat budgets in the North Pacific ocean.