Mark S Solomon

Global Modeling and Assimilation Office

Global Modeling and Assimilation Office

Weather

Working to make 12km hybrid 4DEnVar operational.

Weather

Continued working on the C720 high resolution run in parallel to OPS (f515_fpp). Ran Hybrid 4DEnVar with 200 nodes (5600 CPUs) for the DAS and 50 nodes (1400 CPUs) for the ensemble.

Lead Scientific Programmer/Analyst

Science Systems and Applications, Inc. - NASA Goddard

November 2012 - Present

Supports the Operations group of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Uses the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS), which is an integrated set of
supercomputing, visualization, and data interaction systems
Works with the operations staff to fix problems and ensure that operational software continues
to run
Exercises new software in parallel operations mode to validate it before going operational
Makes script changes to automate operations activities
Analyzes, defines and documents requirements
Writes and maintains technical specifications
Oversees plans for developing programs
Manages the design and coding of screen layouts
Directs the conversion of designs and specifications into computer code: Perl, Python,
FORTRAN 95, and shell scripts.
Creates test transactions and runs tests to find errors and confirm that programs meet
specifications
Consults on the analysis of code to find causes of errors and revises programs.
Consults with client to prototype, refine, test, and debug programs to meet needs.
Ensures that code is run and results are analyzed for hypothesis testing
Writes and maintains documentation to describe program development, logic, coding, testing,
changes, and corrections.
Writes technical reports summarizing analysis results for program management
Reviews documentation written by other that describes installation and operating procedures
Provides technical assistance by responding to inquiries from others regarding errors,
problems, or question about programs
Monitors performance of programs after implementation
Ensures quality assurance compliance
Decide and organize project priorities

Senior Software Engineer

Global Science and Technology - 7855 Walker Dr # 200, Greenbelt, MD 20770

April 2009 - October 2012

Worked on the Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS) of National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Developed detailed designs for various parts of CLASS-SE (Software Evolution
Reviewed existing documentation and beginning to develop prototypes to verify the design
Coded the File Management part of the Receipt Node in Java using Eclipse, Maven, OSGi,
Hibernate and Subversion
Used Informix and MySQL databases to keep track of the file system files
Verified requirements to support GOES-R
Maintained and enhanced a Java application tool for CLASS
Supported load testing in preparation for the increase in data volume associated with the
National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory
Project (NPP) campaign.
Ran NPP load tests to verify that the CLASS system could handle the increased load
expected with the NPP satellite.
Worked for NASA at the Direct Readout Laboratory to enable users to view earth observing
satellite data in real time.
The system used data from both the Earth Observing System (EOS) and preliminary data
from the NPP satellite.
Used java wrappers to incorporate science algorithms in a framework for viewing satellite
data in real time and near real time.

Lead System Engineer

Global Science and Technology - 7855 Walker Dr # 200, Greenbelt, MD 20770

December 2000 - April 2009

Software lead for the ESDIS User Interface Development and Maintenance and the lead software developer for the EOS Data Gateway (EDG) for NASA.
Coordinated all of the software development activities on the task
Assigned tasks and monitored progress and bringing help if anyone needed it in his or her development activities.
Technical liaison between EDG and the Earth Observation System Data Information System (EOSDIS) Core System (ECS). The EDG client was the front end for the ECS system. The ECS system contains data from the Aqua and Terra satellite missions.
Enhanced and fixed bugs in the EOS Clearing HOuse (ECHO) server system using Java (J2EE)
Modified the EDG to interface with the ECHO system. This new system was called the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool (WIST).
Work included the following activities during all phases of the software development life cycle such as: requirements analysis, object-oriented design, coding, and testing.
Software development in C, (object-oriented) Perl, JavaScript, and Java.
Developed Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts that were written in Perl. These Perl modules invoked C programs to implement the IMS Version 0 code.
Performed system testing for the EDG.
Developed test scripts for testing the EDG.
Maintained the current versions of software and documentation as Configuration Manager.
Verified that the correct version of each module is included in each build of the system.

Chief System Engineer

Raytheon ITSS - Lanham, MD

December 1996 - November 2000

Software lead for the Interoperable Extensions Task of the Information Management System (IMS) Version 0.
Lead software developer for the EDG for NASA.
Managed the development of international applications of V0. This included helping to establish new V0 servers in new sites, international bridges to V0 and installing EDG clients.

Section Manager

Hughes STX - Lanham, MD

December 1986 - November 1996

Analyzed software, designed and developed code for the EOS IMS Version 0 on a contract to the NASA.
Designed and developed code for "dependent valids" process using a bitmap. Dependent valids are various fields that are displayed in the search screen of the IMS based on previous selections in other fields.
Worked on the ODAPS (Oceanic Display and Planning System) project for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ODAPS was an air traffic control system, based on the National Airspace System (NAS) and contained over one million lines of code.
Oversaw the testing group for ODAPS.
Established metrics for the ODAPS Conflict Probe National Airspace Change Proposal (NCP) Software Development Task (Package 5).
Oversaw the software development for the ODAPS NCP Software Development Task (Package 4).
Performed requirements analysis, applied the requirements by modifying the functional specifications, designing the changes and coding the changes in JOVIAL.
Fixed software problems that were discovered during an Independent Verification and Validation of the ODAPS Conflict Probe function. Conflict Probe was the ODAPS conflict detection algorithm for determining the potential loss of separation between aircraft.
Worked on code development for the Offshore Flight Data Processing System (OFDPS). OFDPS is another air traffic control system based on ODAPS for the Hawaiian airspace.
Coded in JOVIAL and IBM Assembly language.
Participated in integration and system testing during the Factory Acceptance Testing and Site Acceptance Testing for OFDPS and ODAPS.
Fixed code problems in OFDPS that were observed during the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) Testing.
Resolved problems in the Integration of ODAPS with the 3 NAS Change Proposal (NCP) packages.
Developed the output routines for Conflict Probe.
Supported the development of meteorological processing systems on PCs using FORTRAN, Pascal and C to support the Pilot's Automated Weather Support System (PAWSS).

Developed algorithms for quality control.
Developed decoders for meteorological products
Developed graphics programs to display station observations in graphics form.

Meteorologist/Programmer/Analyst

Data Transformation Corp. - Atlantic City Airport, NJ

January 1984 - November 1986

Worked on the Central Weather Processor (CWP) of the FAA.
Coded meteorological applications in FORTRAN using color computer graphics to display the products.
Developed alphanumeric decoders for meteorological products from the National Meteorological Center (NMC)
Used coordinate transformations to project meteorological data on various map projections.
Developed algorithms to incorporate and display data from Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) in the CWP.
Developed products with gridded wind and temperature data and data from a lightning detection network.

Graduate Assistant at State University of New York at Albany,

State University of New York at Albany - Albany, NY

September 1981 - December 1983

Helped to teach Synoptic Meteorology Lab and Meteorological Instruments.
Worked on the Fog Research Project (1982) of Drs. James Jiusto and Gar Lala.
Obtained and analyzed mesoscale meteorological data from the Portable Automated Mesonet (PAM) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in studying radiation fog.
Made live weather forecasts for commercial radio station WHRL in Albany.

Physical Scientist (Meteorologist)

Mesoscale Techniques Branch, Techniques Development Laboratory, SDO, NWS, NOAA - Silver Spring, MD

January 1981 - August 1981

Assisted in the development of an operational AFOS model for predicting severe weather and thunderstorms in FORTRAN.
Worked on gathering data to develop a forecasting model for Santa Ana wind in Southern California. This involved creating a data set and using the computer to derive regression equations.

American Meteorological Society (AMS)

1983 - 1996

Interior of Eastern New York Chapter of the AMS

1981 - 1983

D. C. Chapter of the AMS

1987 - 1996