Prior to coming to NOAA, DeWitt worked as a research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia University from 1999-2012. While at IRI, David led a team of scientists in the development of seasonal climate forecasts and prototype decision supports systems for the application of climate information in the fields of agriculture, health, and water resources.
From 1994-1999, DeWitt worked at the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies developing coupled atmosphere-ocean models for seasonal forecasts and conducting research to better understand short-term climate variability.
DeWitt received his Bachelor of Arts (1989) degree in meteorology from Kean University, and his Masters (1992), and Ph.D. (1994) degrees in meteorology from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, and is a leading expert on short-term climate forecasting and diagnostics, and coupled model development. He served as an executive editor of Climate Dynamics, and as a member of the World Climate Research Program Working Group on Seasonal to Interannual Prediction.