Timothy Cole Gallaudet is an American
oceanographer and retired
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Gallaudet worked for the
U.S. Department of Commerce as the Acting
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
(NOAA).
As of 2024 he is the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC., and hosts The American Blue Economy Podcast.
Gallaudet is a prominent member of the
UFO community. He says he has seen footage of
unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and
unidentified submerged objects (USO) while on active duty in the U.S. Navy, and has expressed support for
David Grusch's whistleblower claims in
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, calling for the "de-stigmatization" of the subject across
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
, the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
and the general public. He is on the advisory board of Americans for Safe Aerospace, which describes itself as a "military pilot-led nonprofit organization focused on UAP". He is a research affiliate with
Avi Loeb's The Galileo Project that searches for evidence of extraterrestrial technological artifacts.
Early life and education
Gallaudet was born on March 18, 1967, in
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in oceanography from the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
and was commissioned as an
ensign
Ensign most often refers to:
* Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality
* Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank
Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to:
Places
* Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada
* Ensign, Ka ...
in the United States Navy in 1989. After leaving Annapolis, Gallaudet went directly to the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma.
Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...
, receiving a Master of Science degree in oceanography in 1991. Gallaudet served in various naval assignments before returning to Scripps for his doctoral studies in 1997 under the direction of Christian de Moustier. He received his Ph.D. in 2001, then returned to active duty.
Naval service
Gallaudet was Oceanographer of the Navy and Commander of the
Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. He has experience in weather and ocean forecasting, hydrographic surveying, developing policy and plans to counter illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, and assessing the national security impacts of
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.
Gallaudet served for two years aboard the , where he was officer of the deck and Meteorology and Oceanography Division Officer.
From 2003 to 2005, Gallaudet served under Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command at
Stennis Space Center
The John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) is a NASA rocket testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the banks of the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River at the Mississippi–Louisiana border. , it is NASA ...
in Mississippi as the plans and programs officer. He was later program manager for
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
(ASW), and commanding officer of the Naval Oceanography Special Warfare Center. In this role, he established the first Navy SEAL program for unmanned aerial and underwater vehicles and other sensors to detect and locate enemy forces.
In 2008, Gallaudet served on the
Chief of Naval Operations
The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...
(CNO) Staff as Deputy Navigator of the Navy. Gallaudet was the Superintendent/Commanding Officer of the
Naval Observatory from 2011 to 2013,
after which he returned to the CNO staff, ultimately serving as the Head Oceanographer of the Navy, Hydrographer of the Navy, and Commander of the
Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC) at the Stennis Space Center.
Gallaudet retired from the Navy in July 2017.
NOAA service
On October 25, 2017, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gallaudet took office as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere within the
U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position, he fulfilled the role of Acting
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
. During his time at NOAA, Gallaudet led the agency's Blue Economy activities, aiming to advance marine transportation, sustainable seafood production, ocean exploration and mapping and marine tourism.
In February 2019, Gallaudet was replaced as Acting NOAA Administrator by
Neil Jacobs, remaining as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
Ocean STL Consulting, LLC.
Gallaudet is head of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC, an agency offering consulting on leadership direction and pursued partnerships.
Awards
References
External links
Biography at National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationBiography at the U.S. Navy"Rear Admiral, Tim Gallaudet: UFOs, US Government & Experiencing The Paranormal" (YouTube video, Project Unity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallaudet, Timothy
Living people
United States Naval Academy alumni
Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumni
American oceanographers
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel
First Trump administration personnel
United States Navy rear admirals
1967 births
United States Navy rear admirals (lower half)