Dr. Babette Christelle Tchonang is a physical oceanographer specializing in operational oceanography, ocean forecasting, satellite altimetry, and ocean data analysis. She is currently an Assistant Research Scientist at Florida State University (FSU), where she works on the evaluation of ocean prediction systems and the integration of next-generation satellite observations, including the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, into operational forecasting.
Prior to joining FSU, Dr. Tchonang completed a postdoctoral fellowship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where she contributed to the SWOT Calibration and Validation Program by developing advanced methodologies to validate satellite-derived ocean currents using in-situ observations and numerical models. She earned her Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier, France. Her doctoral research, jointly funded by Mercator Ocean International and the French Space Agency (CNES), focused on assessing the impact of SWOT observations on ocean analysis and forecasting systems.
Beyond her research, Dr. Tchonang is deeply committed to international scientific collaboration and capacity development. She is the Founder of the Gulf of Guinea Ocean Sciences Summer School (GGOSSS), an international initiative dedicated to training the next generation of ocean scientists in satellite oceanography, operational oceanography, marine data science, and ocean modeling across the Gulf of Guinea. She also serves as the Scientific and Technical Lead of the OPERA Capacity Development Activities, a European Union-funded initiative aimed at strengthening operational oceanography and forecasting capabilities across Africa. In this role, she oversees an ambitious portfolio of educational and scientific activities, including the development of four large-scale online courses in operational oceanography, ocean literacy resources, and SEA-FORWARD, an open educational ocean forecasting platform that will teach users how to build and operate a real regional ocean forecasting system.
In addition, Dr. Tchonang serves as the Early Career Ocean Professional (ECOP) Co-Chair of the OceanPredict Intercomparison and Validation Task Team (IV-TT), helping coordinate international efforts to improve the evaluation and validation of operational ocean forecasting systems. Through these leadership roles, she continues to advance ocean science education, operational oceanography, and forecasting capacity, particularly across Africa.
Her contributions have been recognized through several prestigious distinctions, including the NASA Group Achievement Honor Award and the EuroGOOS Kostas Nittis Medal.