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Louis (Lou) Licate

Lou is the Center Director for the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. He leads the administrative and policy efforts to support the continued excellence of the Center.

Prior to joining USGS, Lou served the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in both technical and administrative roles support marine charting and mapping, safety of navigation, and engineering infrastructure.

Lou is originally from the Cleveland, OH area but has lived and worked in Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Washington, DC, and Miami, FL.

Professional Experience

  • 2025 - Present, Center Director, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

  • 2021 - 2025, Deputy Chief, Engineering Division, NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

  • 2018-2021, Navigation Manager, NOAA's Office of Coast Survey

  • 2014 - 2018, Oceanographer, NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

Education and Certifications

  • MS, Oceanography University of Rhode Island

  • MS, Physics Creighton University

  • BS, Physics Saint Louis University

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • American Geophysical Union

  • Marine Technology Society

  • Academy of Management

Honors and Awards

  • CO-OPS Director's Award for Excellence (2018 & 2023)

  • Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation (2017)

  • Letter of Commendation from the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (2021)

Abstracts and Presentations

  • Grodsky, Adam; Consiglio, Thomas; Hailegeberel, Minilek; Licate, Louis; Loesch, Robert: “Monitoring Vertical Movement of Water Level Sensors Through cGNSS.” American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Dec. 2023, San Francisco, CA

  • Teng, Chung-Chu; Heitsenrether, Robert; Breuer, Eric; Loesch, Robert;, Grodsky, Adam; Licate, Louis: “Using cGNSS Systems at NOAA Water Level Stations for Vertical Control.” Oceans 2023 Annual Meeting, Sep. 2023, Biloxi, MS

  • Loesch, Robert; Edwing, Richard; Teng, Chung-Chu; Ache, Brent; Licate, Louis; Samant, Manoj; and Mowery, Scott: 2022; “NOAA National Water Level Observation Network Recapitalization.” Oceans 2022 Annual Meeting, Oct. 2022, Virginia Beach, VA

  • Dusek, G., C. DiVeglio, L. Licate, L. Heilman, K. Kirk, C. Paternostro, and A. Miller, 2019: A meteotsunami climatology along the U.S. East Coast. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.

  • Dusek, Gregory; DiVeglio, Christopher; Licate, Louis; Heilman, Lorraine; Kirk, Katie; Paternostro, Christopher; “A Meteotsunami Climatology of the U.S. East Coast using NOAA Tide Gauges.” American Geophysical Union Ocean Sciences Annual Meeting, Feb. 2018, Portland, OR

  • Licate, Louis; Huang, Lijuan; Dusek, Gregory; “A Comparison of Datums Derived from CO-OPS Verified Data Products and CO-OPS Tidal Analysis and Datum Calculator.” COOPS Technical Memorandum, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, Silver Spring. December 2017, Silver Spring, MD

  • Licate, Louis; Huang, Lijuan; Dusek, Gregory; “A Comparison of Datums Derived from CO-OPS Verified Data Products and CO-OPS Tidal Analysis and Datum Calculator.” Coastal and Estuarine Research Foundation Conference, Nov. 2017, Providence, RI

  • Dusek, Gregory; DiVeglio, Christopher; Licate, Louis; Paternostro, Christopher; Heilman, Lorraine; Kirk, Katie; “A big data approach to meteotsunami detection using NOAA water level gauges along the US east coast.” American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan. 2017, Seattle, WA

  • Huang, Lijuan; Licate, Louis; Wolcott, David; Kriner, Kelly; Michalski, Michael; Carisio, Alison, “Vertical Datums in the Hudson River.” Proceedings of the 2016 Canadian Hydrographic Conference, The Hydrographic Society of America, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 16pp.

  • Huang, Lijuan’ Wolcott, David; Licate, Louis; Wang, Jingdong; Gallagher; Myers, Edward; Shi, Lei; “Integrating Offshore Hydrodynamic Model Output with the Onshore Observations to Improve Correctors to Hydrographic Survey Soundings.” Proceedings of the 2014 Canadian Hydrographic Conference, The Hydrographic Society of America, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, 16pp.

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government

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