Ariel Stein Appointed ARL Director

NOAA has announced Dr. Ariel Stein is appointed the Director, Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) effective May 8, 2022. Dr. Stein is currently Director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory. Ariel has agreed to serve as Acting Director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) until the permanent GML position is filled.

In January 2022, Ariel was selected to the Senior Executive Service and was appointed as the Director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Stein became Acting Deputy Director of ARL in 2017. In his career at ARL, Ariel led the development of hybrid dispersion modeling techniques, including the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, a widely utilized atmospheric transport and dispersion model. His research with atmospheric transport and dispersion modeling includes the simulation of atmospheric tracer release experiments, radionuclides, smoke originated from wildfires, volcanic ash, and wind-blown dust.

With a permanent director now appointed, ARL is better equipped to meet the atmospheric research and development needs of NOAA as well as our Nation. “Ariel Stein is a proven leader and we look forward to having him at ARL to help us address pressing issues such tracking greenhouse gas emissions and improving our nation’s air quality forecasting capability,” said Cisco Werner, Acting Assistant Administrator of NOAA Research.

Dr. LaToya Myles will remain the Acting Deputy Director at ARL, a role she has held since January 2022. Dr. Myles is an environmental chemist and has previously led ARL’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division in Oak Ridge, TN as Director. LaToya has demonstrated leadership of boundary layer R&D efforts, including observational campaigns and modeling of physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere. She began her 20-year tenure at ARL as a fellow of the NOAA Educational Partnership Program and has become a subject matter expert, invited speaker, and published author in surface-atmosphere exchange and biogeochemical cycling of reactive nitrogen.

“LaToya brings a wealth of leadership experience and innovative thinking that can help advance ARL’s existing research and development programs and identify new opportunities,” said Ariel Stein.

ARL studies the physical and chemical processes that occur in the boundary layer, on time scales spanning a few hours to several years. Research on the mixing, exchange, and transformation of energy, moisture, trace gasses, and particles, contributes to NOAA’s meteorological models and forecast operations that are vital in improving weather, air quality forecasts and providing accurate information to the public. The planetary boundary layer dynamics have a direct impact on a number of issues related to public health and safety, business, and the environment.