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John Nowak, Acting Deputy Director for Earth Action & Scientific Integrity, Science Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center

John Nowak

Acting Deputy Director for Earth Action & Scientific Integrity, Science Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center

Contents

About

Dr. John Nowak serves as the Acting Deputy Director for Earth Action and Scientific Integrity for the Science Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center, a role he assumed in fall 2025. This appointment followed a year-long detail as Acting Deputy Director of the Science Directorate, where he provided leadership and strategic oversight for the directorate’s scientific research programs.

Dr. Nowak joined NASA Langley’s Science Directorate in 2016 as part of the trace gas measurement group (DACOM/DLH), conducting airborne measurements of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor during multiple NASA field campaigns. His technical expertise and demonstrated leadership abilities led to two successive details as Chemistry and Dynamics’ Assistant Branch Head. In early 2022, he was appointed Acting Branch Head, and by September 2022, he was named the permanent Head of the Chemistry and Dynamics Branch.

Dr. Nowak earned a B.A. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago, where he worked under Professor Jonathan Abbatt conducting laboratory experiments on heterogeneous chemical reactions. He continued his education at the Georgia Institute of Technology, completing a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Chemistry under Professor Douglas Davis. His doctoral research focused on developing innovative airborne measurement techniques for dimethylsulfoxide and ammonia using chemical ionization mass spectrometry for the NASA GTE PEM Tropics B campaign.

Following graduate school, Dr. Nowak spent over a decade at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, first as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow and subsequently as a University of Colorado-CIRES research scientist. During this period, he refined and improved airborne measurement methods for ammonia and nitric acid. He then transitioned to the private sector, joining Aerodyne Research, Inc., where he employed advanced chemical ionization techniques with time-of-flight mass spectrometry to measure highly oxidized gas phase precursors for organic aerosol formation and aerosol composition. He also conducted measurements of greenhouse gases—including methane and nitrous oxide—and aerosol precursors such as ammonia and nitric acid using direct absorption spectroscopy.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Nowak has contributed significantly to atmospheric chemistry research through innovative measurement techniques, field campaign participation, and scientific management, making him well-suited to advance NASA’s Earth science mission and ensure scientific integrity in research programs.

Publication Bibliography

Select Publications

  • H. S. Halliday, J. P. DiGangi, Y. Choi, G. S. Diskin, S. E. Pusede, M. Rana, J. B. Nowak, C. Knote, X. Ren, H. He, R. R. Dickerson, and Z. Li, Using Short-Term CO/CO2 Ratios to Assess Air Mass Differences over the Korean Peninsula during KORUS-AQ, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029697, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD02969
  • Kelly, J. T., Parworth, C. L., Zhang, Q., Miller, D. J., Sun, K., Zondlo, M. A., Baker, K.R., Wisthaler, A., Nowak, J. B., Pusede, S. E., Cohen, R. C., Weinheimer, A. J., Beyersdorf, A. J., Tonnesen, G. S., Bash, J. O., Valin, L. C., Crawford, J. H., Fried, A., Walega, J. G., Modeling NH4NO3 over the San Joaquin Valley during the 2013 DISCOVER‐AQ campaign. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 123. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD028290, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD028290
  • Pusede, S. E., Duffey, K. C., Shusterman, A. A., Saleh, A., Laughner, J. L., Wooldridge, P. J., Zhang, Q., Parworth, C. L., Kim, H., Capps, S. L., Valin, L. C., Cappa, C. D., Fried, A., Walega, J., Nowak, J. B., Weinheimer, A. J., Hoff, R. M., Berkoff, T. A., Beyersdorf, A. J., Olson, J., Crawford, J. H., and Cohen, R. C.: On the effectiveness of nitrogen oxide reductions as a control over ammonium nitrate aerosol, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2575-2596, doi:10.5194/acp-16-2575-2016, 2016. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2575-2016
  • Schiferl, L. D., C. L. Heald, J. B. Nowak, J. S. Holloway, J. A. Neuman, R. Bahreini, I. B. Pollack, T. B. Ryerson, C. Wiedinmyer, and J. G. Murphy, An investigation of ammonia and inorganic particulate matter in California during the CalNex campaign, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, 1883–1902, doi:10.1002/2013JD020765, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020765
  • Kelly, J. T., K.R. Baker, J.B. Nowak, J.G. Murphy, M.Z. Markovic, T.C. VanderBoer, R.A. Ellis, J.A. Neuman, R.J. Weber, J.M. Roberts, P.R. Veres, J.A. deGouw, M.R. Beaver, S. Newman, C. Misenis, Fine-scale simulation of ammonium and nitrate over the South Coast Air Basin and San Joaquin Valley of California during CalNex-2010, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, 3600–3614, doi:10.1002/2013JD021290, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD021290
  • Nowak, J.B., J.A. Neuman, R. Bahreini, A.M. Middlebrook, J.S. Holloway, S. A. McKeen, D.D. Parrish, T.B. Ryerson, and M. Trainer, Ammonia sources in the California South Coast Air Basin and their impact on ammonium nitrate formation, Geophy. Res. Lett., 39, L07804, doi:10.1029/2012GL051197, 2012 https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051197
  • Nowak, J.B., J. A. Neuman, K. Kozai, L. G. Huey, D. J. Tanner, J. S. Holloway, T. B. Ryerson, G. J. Frost, S. A. McKeen, and F.C. Fehsenfeld, A Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry Technique for Airborne Measurements of Ammonia, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D10S02, doi:10.1029/2006JD007589, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007589
  • Nowak, J.B., D.D. Davis, G. Chen, F.L. Eisele, R.L. Mauldin III, D.J. Tanner, C. Cantrell, E. Kosciuch, A. Bandy, D. Thornton, and A. Clarke, Airborne Observations of DMSO, DMS, and OH at Marine Tropical Latitudes, Geophy. Res. Lett., Vol. 28, No. 11, 2201-2204, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012297

Education/Professional Experience

  • Research Physical Scientist, NASA Langley Research Center
  • Senior Scientist, Aerodyne Research, Inc.
  • Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado
  • Ph.D., Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • B.A., Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago

Professional Memberships

  • American Geophysical Union (AGU)
  • American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS)

Contact / Program Home Links

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