James L. Kinter is currently Director and Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA), and an Associate Professor of Climate Dynamics at George Mason University. Dr. Kinter conducts original climate modeling research to determine the predictability of seasonal and longer climate variations, the role of biophysical feedback on seasonal variability, and methods to improve climate predictions. He serves on or chairs several national advisory committees on climate prediction, geosciences research and education, and cyberinfrastructure in support of transformational research. Prior to joining COLA, Dr. Kinter was a National Research Council associate at Goddard Space Flight Center and a member of the faculty at the University of Maryland. He holds a Ph.D. (1984) in geophysical fluid dynamics from Princeton University.