Contact Us

The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) is operated by the Ocean Engineering Research Group (OERG) of the Integrative Oceanography Division (IOD) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Its offices are located in Isaacs Hall at SIO, Room 100 adjacent to permit parking lot P11.

[email protected]

+1 (858) 534-3032

9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0214
Tel: 858-534-3032
Fax: 858-455-5575

Isaacs Hall, Suite 100, UCSD
8875 Biological Grade La Jolla, CA 92093
Tel: 858-534-3032

CDIP Staff

	Victor Aguilar, Sr Marine Mechanician [email protected] Sr. Marine Mechanic working with CDIP since 2004 assisting with training, deployments, maintenance, and daily operations in the field.
	James Behrens, Principal Developent Engineer/Manager [email protected] Jim joined CDIP in 2016, and works in program management. A specialist in oceanographic and geophysical instrumentation and field operations, he has logged over 1,000 days of sea time on research and exploration projects spanning the globe, plus two years of Antarctic deep field expeditions. He studied physics at Purdue University, and completed his Ph.D. at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego in 2005, with a focus on measuring and modeling electromagnetic properties of the seafloor and associated plate tectonic processes. Prior to joining CDIP, he worked as an independent offshore client representative in the oil and gas exploration industry, and as field operations manager for a small startup geophysical prospecting company.
	Randy Bucciarelli, Programmer/Analyst [email protected] GIS Programmer working with CDIP since 2001. Obtained B.S. Degree from CSU Monterey Bay in Earth Systems Science and a M.S. from San Diego State in Computational Science. Interests include waves, beaches, and technology.
	Grant Cameron, Programmer/Analyst [email protected] Grant hails from Vancouver B.C. in the Great White North. He attended the University of British Columbia majoring in Physics. After a few years teaching Secondary School in Canada and the US, he travelled with his young family throughout the US eventually settling down in Tucson Arizona where he continued to pursue higher education eventually graduating with a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering and an M.S. in Statistics. He joined CDIP in 1996 while finishing his doctorate degree. Grant manages the computer systems and data acquisition as well as contributing to web and scientific programming. If you can't find him in front of a computer, he is likely playing the accordion or on the soccer pitch.
	Reese De Guzman, Field Researcher [email protected] Reese received his B.S. in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2022 and joined the CDIP team in 2023. Prior to joining CDIP, Reese was a field technician for a fisheries research lab focused on innovating and implementing sustainable commercial fishing practices in the state of California. Some of his past work includes tagging Swordfish and studying interactions of oceanic whitetip sharks with Hawaiian longline fishermen. He is also an experienced captain, holding a 100-ton master license from the U.S. Coast Guard. Reese works as a field researcher assisting with CDIP's daily shop and field operations including equipment maintenance, buoy deployments and retrievals.
	Les Hanson, Staff Research Associate [email protected] Les Hanson is currently a field technician for the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP). His expertise is in wave buoy deployments and retrievals. He has expertise in launching, retrieving, and maintaining equipment off of large, and small research vessels as well as pleasure craft. His experience includes working in large wind, swell, and other adverse weather conditions. He also has experience working on research vessels in the Channel Islands as in the Gulf of Mexico. He has a passion for improving the sustainability of the environment and natural resources. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from California State University, Channel Islands.
	Jenny Jilka, Research Project Assistant [email protected] Jenny Jilka is a Research Project Assistant with CDIP (since 2014), using her background in accounting and marine science to assist CDIP with budgets, contracts and financial projections.
	Hailey Johnson, Programmer/Analyst [email protected] Hailey joined CDIP as a programmer in 2024; prior to CDIP, she was a developer for the THREDDS Data Server and NetCDF-Java projects at UCAR/NCAR’s Unidata Program Center. Her expertise is in geoscientific data storage, access, and visualization. She has a B.S. in Computer Science from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Coastal Geomorphology from the University of Florida.
	Vicki Kellis, Research Project Assistant [email protected] Vicki, San Diego native, has been working with CDIP as a Research Project Assistant since 2007. She assists with the core operations and maintenance of the CDIP wave buoy program.
	John Lodise, Postdoc [email protected] John is researching wave conditions produced under extreme storm conditions, mainly targeting tropical and extratropical cyclones. Under these intense storm conditions, John compares wave observations from different instruments (satellites, wave buoys, etc.) to operational wave models to determine the accuracy of the models and help inform future wave predictions.
	Corey Olfe, Programmer/Analyst [email protected] Corey has worked as a programmer and data analyst for CDIP since 1998. His responsibilities include the processing and QC of sensor observations and managing CDIP's wave model code.
	Lily Ortiz, Student Assistant [email protected] Lily joined CDIP in 2024 as a Coastal Data Information Program Assistant. She is currently an undergraduate student attending UCSD majoring in Biochemistry. Lily is from the Monterey Bay and in her free time she enjoys hiking along coastal beaches in California.
	Rakesh Packonayil John, Programmer/Analyst [email protected] Rakesh joined our team in 2016. Prior to working with CDIP Rakesh worked around 5 years each in Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, San Diego. He did B-Tech in electronics and communication engineering. His interests include the ocean, sustainable farming, and technology. Since 2016, he has been working as a programmer, system administrator, and supporting the backend operations for buoy deployment.
	Richard Seymour, Founder In 1975, Dr. Seymour began what is now called CDIP. He was an oceanographer with interests in wave climate of the Pacific Coast of the United States, effects of global climate shifts on wave intensity in the Pacific and extreme wave events.
	Noah Sheen, Staff Research Associate [email protected] Noah joined CDIP as a student in 2017 and is now working full time as a Staff Research Associate. He assists with day-to-day maintenance and field work as well as boat operation. He graduated from UCSD with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
	Eric Terrill, Principal Investigator [email protected] Eric is an oceanographer with an engineering background who leads basic and applied research programs in a variety of marine and environmental disciplines. He founded the Coastal Observing Research and Development Center (CORDC) in 2003 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to focus on the development of new technologies, their application for basic and applied sciences, and the exploitation and fusion of data for improved decision making. He joined CDIP as Co-Principal Investigator in 2014, leveraging his background in ocean wave and air-sea processes. He has extensive experience with the design, coordination, and implementation of complex maritime field measurement programs that are executed globally, both in the ocean and on land. Sponsorship for these initiatives comes primarily from federal and state agencies; including USACE, NOAA and Navy ocean observation, and Maritime Domain Awareness initiatives. Eric was also one of the early leaders in establishing the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, one of the 11 U.S. Regional Associations that form the Integrated Ocean Observing System. Eric obtained his B.S. in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Science from UCSD his Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography - Applied Ocean Sciences from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
	Julie Thomas, Retired 2019 [email protected] Julie Thomas has worked for over 40 years at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA. She has served as Program Manager and Principal Investigator for the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) since 2005. With State and Federal funding, CDIP maintains a national network of wave monitoring buoys, publishing the wave observations and products. As Program Manager of CDIP, the priority is to maintain standards for collecting and disseminating high resolution wave data throughout the marine community. In 2008, Julie became Executive Director of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS). As Executive Director of SCCOOS, the priority is the development of the Ocean Observing Systems at regional, state and national levels, promoting inter-agency collaboration, data interoperability and data standards. Julie serves on many national committees advocating for high quality data and data standards.
	Ross Timmerman, Research Data Analyst [email protected] Ross joined CDIP in 2019 and specializes in stakeholder communications, operations support, data analysis and data products. He holds degrees in Environmental Science.
	Darren Wright, Programmer/Analyst [email protected] Darren has been a programmer at CDIP since 2005 and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Diego State University. Before joining CDIP, he specialized in environmental and energy technologies focusing on research, pilot-scale development, full-scale testing and evaluation. At CDIP, Darren also dedicated several years as the functional data management lead for the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS). His role involves designing and developing software applications, algorithms and analysis techniques to enhance the collection, storage, processing and dissemination of ocean data.