Mark McInerney

Mark A. McInerney is an American meteorologist and climate data scientist who serves as NASA's Director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Research, a position he has held since 2023. He earned a B.S. in meteorology from Central Michigan University and an M.S. in software engineering and distributed computing from Grand Valley State University. McInerney began his career in 1994 with the National Weather Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including work at the National Hurricane Center, where he received the highest honor of the National Weather Service in 2003. He joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 2010, where he coordinated technical strategies for the Earth Observing System Data and Information System until spring 2023. As the first NASA Director of UAP Research, McInerney oversees the agency's scientific investigation of unidentified anomalous phenomena, centralizing communications, resources, and data analytical capabilities while leveraging NASA's expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and space-based observation tools to support government-wide UAP research efforts.