David T. Sandwell is a Professor of Geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. His research is focused on marine tectonics and geodynamics, and he develops global marine gravity and topography models from satellite altimetry and ship soundings. He is author of more than 190 research papers. He is a Fellow of Geological Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.