Background
Dr. Tom Wagner is the Associate Director for Earth Action in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters.
Previously, Tom was Senior Program Scientist in NASA's Planetary Science Division, where he served as program scientist for the Dragonfly Mission to Titan and ran the Discovery 2019 AO that selected the DAVINCI and VERITAS missions. From 2009-2019, Tom served as project scientist for the Earth Science Division's Cryosphere Program. He worked in polar science and sea level rise, including serving as the project scientist for the ICESat-2 and IceBridge missions. Concurrently he ran the Earth Venture Instrument 3 and 4 AOs that selected PREFIRE, MAIA, TROPICS, and EMIT. Joining NASA HQ in 2009, Tom previously ran the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Earth Science Program.
Tom’s thesis research at MIT focused on volcanoes of the Earth and moon. After finishing his doctoral degree, Tom spent six years teaching at the University of Papua New Guinea, where he was also involved in university administration and in foreign aid projects.