Dr. Dorothy Koch

Dr. Dorothy Koch is the Associate Director for Biological and Environmental Research (BER) in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science (SC). BER supports transformative science and scientific user facilities to harness the genomic potential found in nature necessary to lead the nation in the biotechnical revolution, and to achieve predictive capability across environment, biology and energy systems. This fundamental research is conducted at DOE national laboratories and research institutions across the country, including three DOE User Facilities, four Bioenergy Research Centers, and several internationally leading data and modeling efforts.

From 2019 to 2023, Dr. Koch worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), first as the Director of the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI) Modeling Program, responsible for the development of the NWS Forecast System and then as the Director of the Weather Program Office (WPO) in Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR).

From 2010-2019 she served as a BER Program Manager and launched DOE’s world-leading Energy Exascale Earth System Model, designed to effectively utilize DOE’s advanced high-performance computing systems, incorporate BER’s field research, and navigate the nation’s integrated environmental-energy challenges.

Prior to working in the federal government, Dr. Koch was a Research Scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASAs) Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), where she designed and built aerosol and chemistry systems within the GISS Earth system model and established herself as an international scholar with an extensive publication record.

She received her PhD in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.