Riley Duren is a Principal Engineer and Chief Systems Engineer for the Earth Science Directorate at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology. For 25 years he has worked at the intersection of engineering and science to deliver complex systems including seven space missions spanning earth science and astrophysics. He was Chief Engineer for the Kepler mission that conducted a major survey of earth-size planets around other stars and is recipient of two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals. He is a Visiting Researcher at UCLA’s Joint Institute For Regional Earth System Science and Engineering. Since 2008 he has applied the discipline of systems engineering to supporting societal decision-making about climate change and energy.
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Auburn University, 1991
Duren’s research focuses on carbon monitoring and he serves as co-Principal Investigator for the interagency Megacities Carbon Project and is also Principal Investigator of the Understanding User Needs Project for NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System program. He also studies methods for assessing risks and improving observational capabilities for potential emerging societal challenges such as water resource management and geoengineering.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Chief Systems Engineer, Earth Science & Technology Directorate (2008 – Present)
- Chief Engineer, Kepler Mission (2006 –2009)
- Project Systems Engineer, Kepler Mission (2002-2006)
- Instrument Systems Engineer, StarLight project (2000 –2002)
- Metrology System Engineer, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (1996 –2000)
NASA Kennedy Space Center
- Integration & Test Engineer, 5 space shuttle missions (1988-1995)
- National Academy of Engineering Gilbreth Lecture (2013)
- Engineer’s Council Distinguished Engineering Achievement Award (2012)
- NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals (2001 & 2010)
- NASA Systems Engineering Excellence Award (2010)
- Charles Witham Environmental Stewardship Award (2008)
- NASA Group Achievement Awards (6 total, 1991-2010)
- Hutyra, L., R. Duren, K.R. Gurney, N. Grimm, E. Kort, E. Larson, G. Shrestha, “Urbanization and the carbon cycle: Current capabilities and research outlook from the natural sciences perspective”, Earth’s Future (2014), submitted.
- P. Ciais, A.J. Dolman, A. Bombelli, R. Duren, A. Peregon, P.J. Rayner et al.,“ Current systematic carbon cycle observations and needs for implementing a policy-relevant carbon observing system”, Biogeosci (2013), 10, 11447–11581, doi:10.5194/bgd-10-11447-2013.
- West, T.O., M.E. Brown, R. Duren, S.M. Ogle, R. H. Moss, “Definition, capabilities and components of a terrestrial carbon monitoring system”, Carbon Management,(2013) 4(4), 413–422, doi: 10.4155/CMT.13.36
- E. Kort, C. E. Miller, R. Duren, W. Angevine, “Surface observations for monitoring megacity greenhouse gas emissions: minimum requirements for Los Angeles”, J. Geophys Res – A (2013). doi: 10.1002/jgrd.50135
- R. Duren and C. Miller, “Measuring the Carbon Emissions of Megacities”, Nature Climate Change 2, 560–562 (2012). doi:10.1038/nclimate1629
- R. Duren and C. Miller, “Towards robust global greenhouse gas monitoring”, J. Greenhouse Gas Meas and Manag. (2011). doi:10.1080/20430779.2011.579356
- Robock, A., D.G.MacMartin, R. Duren, M.W. Christensen, “Studying geoengineering with natural and anthropogenic analogs”, J. Clim. Change (2013), doi: 10.1007/s10584-013-0777-5.
- Farr, T.G., E. Caro, R. Crippen, R. Duren, S. Hensley, M. Kobrick, M. Paller, E. Rodriguez, P. Rosen, L. Roth, D. Seal, S. Shaffer, J. Shimada, J. Umland, M. Werner, “The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission”, AGU Reviews of Geophysics (2006).
- Duren, R. “Verification and Validation of Deep-Space Missions”, AIAA J. Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 41, No. 4 (2004)