Raphael Kudela received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Southern California in 1995. He was a Science Postdoctoral Fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute working with Francisco Chavez from 1995-1998. He has been working on ocean optics and phytoplankton ecophysiology for 25 years (starting as a NASA Global Change Fellow) with funding from NSF, NASA, and NOAA to integrate in-water, airborne, and satellite data for application to phytoplankton ecology, and his group has developed novel bio-optical applications for estimation of salinity, trace-metals, and modeled new and primary production. He has successfully led several multi-institution, 5+-year projects funded by NSF and NOAA. He currently serves on the NSF Scientific Committee On Aircraft Research (SCOAR) and is a member of a joint GEOHAB/IOCCG Working Group exploring the use of satellite remote sensing for harmful algal blooms. He has 177 peer-reviewed publications since 2000, 42 of which focus on bio-optics.