Short Bio:
John Kerfoot is a software engineer, data analyst and systems programmer with 25 years of experience supporting oceanographic data systems and research initiatives at Rutgers. With a M.S. in Biological Oceanography and a Bachelor’s in Aquatic Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, John has built a career centered on the integration, processing, and distribution of complex environmental data. John played a key role in national and international ocean data efforts, including contributing to the development of NetCDF standards and managing data infrastructure such as THREDDS and ERDDAP servers. His work involves collaborating with regional data providers, ensuring data compliance, and supporting large-scale initiatives like the Ocean Observatories Initiative and MARACOOS by transforming distributed datasets into accessible, visualization-ready formats.
His technical expertise spans scientific programming, data services, and web-based tools, enabling advanced analysis and real-time comparison of ocean models with observational data. John has designed workflows and scripts to merge satellite-derived sea surface temperature products and support atmospheric modeling applications, as well as conducted analysis of high-frequency radar data to generate surface current fields. Proficient across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments, he brings strong skills in Python, MATLAB, Perl, database management, and modern web technologies. John’s experience with geospatial data systems, version control, and ocean data access protocols underscores a deep capability in building scalable, user-focused data solutions for scientific and operational communities.