Dr. Alan F. Blumberg is an oceanographer best known for his contributions to the understanding of flow processes and modeling of water bodies as well as initiatives that provide better scientific observations and forecasts for coastal urban areas.

Education and Research

Blumberg earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

 in 1976 and conducted post-doctoral research at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, where he was integral to the development of numerical ocean flow models such as the Princeton Ocean Model

Princeton Ocean Model

The Princeton Ocean Model is a community general numerical model for ocean circulation that can be used to simulate and predict oceanic currents, temperatures, salinities and other water properties. The code was originally developed at Princeton University in collaboration with Dynalysis of...

 (POM) and its shallow water derivative, the Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Model. POM remains in use throughout the world to inform environmental studies, vessel and shipping operations, and maritime security issues. The predictive model was notably used in recent years to study the potential effects of the Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro, Marshall...

 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

.

Blumberg has been featured on several television programs, including CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 Eyewitness News and the National Geographic Channel

National Geographic Channel

National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...

 show "Naked Science" to discuss a new methodology for weakening hurricanes by as much as a category. The proposed system uses thousands of pipes dropped into the ocean that would transport cold water up to the surface by the pressure of waves and thus reduce the temperature on the ocean's surface by 1-3 degrees. Such a temperature drop would be enough to chill a storm to save lives and reduce damage.

In 2002, Blumberg joined the faculty of Stevens Institute of Technology

Stevens Institute of Technology

Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...

, and currently acts as Director of the Center for Maritime Systems.

Professional Career and Public Service

Blumberg had an extended career as a senior scientist and executive at the scientific consulting firms Dynalysis of Princeton and HydroQual. As an expert in Maritime Domain Awareness

Maritime domain awareness

Maritime domain awareness is defined as the effective understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment. It is part of a US government interagency and international maritime security effort...

, Blumberg has served on public boards and technical committees, including for the Environmental Protection Agency, NOAA, American Meteorological Society

American Meteorological Society

The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...

, and the Integrated Ocean Observing System

Integrated Ocean Observing System

The Integrated Ocean Observing System is an organization of systems that routinely and continuously provides quality controlled data and information on current and future states of the oceans and Great Lakes from the global scale of ocean basins to local scales of coastal ecosystems...

, and has collaborated with UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO. It first met in Paris at Unesco Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States became members of the Commission.The IOC is composed of its Member States ,...

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New York Harbor Emergencies

Blumberg manages a sophisticated water condition monitoring system in New York Harbor, NYHOPS, with over 200 sensors constantly relaying information on such things as currents, which is accessed by commercial shipping operations in the area and has been used to track pollution and wreckage.
He was interviewed by the New York Times in regards to his contributions to first responders during emergencies in the Hudson River, particularly Flight 1549, the now-famous emergency landing in the river. In 2005, he helped divers retrieve the body of a drowned Hoboken police officer.
In August 2011, Blumberg appeared on CNBC to provide expert opinion on the influence of the large spring tidal range on Hurricane Irene's potential impact to lower areas of Manhattan.