National Fire Weather Program Manager David "Rusty" Billingsley has been selected as the new Chief of the Southern Region's Scientific Services Division (SSD). Billingsley replaces Dan Smith who retired January 3. In his new position, he will be responsible for maintaining the high level of applied meteorological science practiced at Southern Region field offices; and, will oversee training and professional development activities, collaboration with the scientific community and the development of new techniques to apply technological advances to operational needs.

Twenty years ago, Billingsley launched his career as a Journeyman Forecaster with the NWS office in Albuquerque, N.M. He left for a one year stint as a Systems Analyst with Compaq Computer Corp. in Houston (1989 - 1990) and returned to the NWS as a Meteorologist in support of the Southwest Agricultural Weather Service Center at Texas A & M in College Station, Texas (1990 - 1993). He served as the Science Operations Officer at the Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Boise, Idaho (1993 - 2000) and Meteorologist-in-Charge of the WFO in Lubbock, Texas (2000 - 2002) before accepting his current position at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

"David Billingsley will be an excellent addition to our Southern Region management team," said Bill Proenza, director, National Weather Service Southern Region. "He offers a profound range of operational meteorology experience as well as a strong background in the "IMET" program, computer science, academic research and the Cooperative Institute program."

In his current position, Billingsley is responsible for assessing customer fire weather needs and NWS operational support for the national fire weather program. His duties involve coordination with more than 100 WFOs in six NWS Regions, more than 60 Incident Meteorologists (IMET) and five federal agencies as well as local, state, regional and national customers. He is the co-recipient of a Department of Commerce (DOC) Bronze Medal Award for IMET support and service during the 2003 fire season and is currently heading a NWS team tasked to investigate the feasibility of IMET service expansion to an all hazards program. In addition to numerous local awards, he received another DOC Bronze Medal Award for exceptional forecasting in Lubbock during the winter of 2000-2001.

As the SOO in Boise, his skill in computer languages allowed him to play a major role in the development and introduction of new technology and datasets to prepare the staff for the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System as well as UNIX workstations and associated software. His time at Texas A & M included considerable research in dew observation and forecasting, solar radiation estimation and soil moisture modeling. In conducting his research activities, he worked closely with the University's Cooperative Institute program.

Billingsley holds a bachelor's (1982) and a master's degree (1994) in Meteorology as well as a master's degree in Business Computing Science (1984) from Texas A & M. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. He will be joined by his wife Peggy, and his two children, Patricia and Bryan, who are excited about moving back to Texas.