After graduation, Brad Paulson joined the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA, as a marine geologist to assist in arctic coastal erosion and diving investigations designed to collect long-term data on ice formation in the Beaufort Sea and to study its effect on sediment transport and shoreline dynamics. In 1988, he was hired by an engineering consulting firm (CH2M HILL) as an oceanographer to support various environmental studies and engineering design projects located around the world. In 1993, he earned an M.S. in Geological Oceanography from the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington. He is currently a senior technologist and oceanographer with Jacobs Engineering in the Seattle area. He has a diverse background in coastal and estuarine oceanography, water and sediment quality, contaminant transport, outfall mixing zone/dilution analysis, and engineering design. He specializes in wastewater discharge analyses that include integration of field and modeling programs, outfall design, and NPDES compliance and permitting issues. He also serves as an AAUS-certified scientific diver on the Jacobs dive team.