NCCOS Staff

Dave Kidwell is the director of the Competitive Research Program and is responsible for the oversight and direction of over 80 competitively funded projects across the country with an annual research budget of over $22 million. The Competitive Research Program funds ecosystem research focused on providing science-based solutions for harmful algal blooms, sea level rise, coastal inundation, ecosystem management, and other threats to our nation's coasts. Kidwell serves as co-chair for the Interagency Working Group for HABs and Hypoxia and actively collaborates with partners to advance much of the NCCOS HAB and coastal resilience portfolio.

Kidwell joined NCCOS in 2007 as a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow after receiving M.S. degree from the University of Maryland in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science and B.A. degree from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Prior to NCCOS, he conducted his graduate work with the U.S. Geological Survey where he collaborated on a wide-ranging study of waterfowl that included satellite telemetry, foraging ecology, and physiological assessments. While with the USGS, he also participated in several multi-year habitat assessments in National Wildlife Refuges. Kidwell can often be found in marshes, forests, and other habitats searching for the next new or interesting bird species to observe.