Gerald Bawden

Dr. Gerald Bawden is a Program Manager for Geosphere in the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.  Geosphere brings NASA’s unique capabilities and observational resources to deepen understanding of the structure and dynamics of Earth’s surface, lithosphere, mantle and core and to advance knowledge of the interdependencies and interactions between solid Earth processes and the cryosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and anthrosphere.  He oversees the Crustal Dynamics Program which advances fundamental understanding of land surface deformation and geomorphic change driven by natural and anthropogenic mechanisms such as tectonics, gravity, and subsurface fluid flow. The program informs the assessment, mitigation, and forecasting of natural and human-induced hazards including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, landslides and land subsidence and examines how human activity may accelerate, trigger or decrease the likelihood of geohazards.   

Dr. Bawden is responsible for the Geodetic Imaging Program that enables new and innovative end-to-end research and observational capabilities spanning all of NASA’s Earth Science research and Earth Science to Action elements with cloud penetrating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology.  Gerald is the Program Scientist for the NASA ISRO (India Space Research Organisation) Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Mission, the Surface Deformation and Change (SDC) Mission Study, and UAVSAR/AirSAR-NextGen (Next Generation) airborne SAR/InSAR facilities instruments (P-, L-, and Ka-bands) and technology testbed.  Gerald is also the Program Scientist for Operational Products for End-Users for Remote Sensing (OPERA) and the Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center (ASF DAAC) for SAR data. He was the NASA Principal for the intergovernmental Satellite Needs Working Group (2017-2024), and was the Focus Area lead for the Water and Energy Cycle Focus Area (2018-2024). 

Prior to joining NASA in 2014, Dr. Bawden was a Research Geophysicist with the US Geological Survey California Water Science Center and Western Geographics Science Center in Sacramento.  He oversaw the Western Remote Sensing and Visualization Center that specialized in the utilization of space, airborne, and ground based geodetic measurements to advance research on groundwater, surface water, and snow science research/applications.  His research focused on understanding of the mechanisms that drive natural and anthropogenic hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and land subsidence.  His research covered topics including hydrogeodesy, glacier dynamics, ecosystem/biomorphic/wildlife habit characterization, levee/dam/ infrastructure stability, and 3D scientific visualization. Dr. Bawden was a Project Manager for the International Charter which provided remote sensing imagery for global disaster response. He began at Arizona State University in Planetary Geology and received a B.S. in Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis.