Biography

As director of ISE, Knopman is responsible for research ranging from public safety, homeland security, and energy and the environment to science and technology, physical infrastructure, transportation, and space. From 1997 to 2003, she was a member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, which has oversight of the Yucca Mountain scientific and engineering program. She chaired the board's Site Characterization Panel. In addition, Knopman has held several positions in government. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Chief of the Branch of Systems Analysis in the U.S. Geological Survey, professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and legislative assistant for energy and environmental issues to Senator Daniel P. Moynihan. Her research background is in hydrology, environmental and natural resources policy, systems analysis, and public administration.

Biography

Knopman's expertise is in hydrology, environmental and natural resources policy, systems analysis and operations research, and public administration. Her project work at RAND has spanned a range of topics from risks associated with unexploded ordnance on Army training ranges to the design of a National Research Fund for Qatar. Knopman served for six years (1997–2003) as a member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and chaired the board's Site Characterization Panel. She was the director of the Progressive Policy Institute's Center for Innovation and the Environment from 1995 to 2000. From 1993 to 1995, Knopman was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior. She had previously been a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and later chief of the Branch of Systems Analysis in the USGS's Water Resources Division. From 1979 to 1983, she served first as legislative assistant for energy and environmental issues to Senator Daniel P. Moynihan and then as professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Knopman was the 2001 recipient of the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association's Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Government Service.

Knopman’s recent RAND publications include Design of the Qatar National Research Fund: An Overview of the Study Approach and Key Recommendations (Victoria A. Greenfield et al., 2008); Preparing for an Uncertain Future Climate in the Inland Empire: Identifying Robust Water-Management Strategies (David G. Groves et al., 2008); and Presenting Uncertainty About Climate Change to Water-Resource Managers (David G. Groves et al., 2008).