John Hildebrand is a Distinguished Professor of oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. He is associated with the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. During academic year 2023-2024 he is serving as the University of California Academic Senate San Diego Division Chair.

His research focuses on using sound to study marine mammals and the impact of anthropogenic sound in the ocean.  Hildebrand’s lab has developed a high-frequency acoustic recording package (HARP) that is capable of long-term acoustic monitoring in remote ocean locations.  These instruments are currently deployed in the Arctic, near Hawaii, off the coast of Washington and California, and in the Gulf of Mexico.  HARPs have revealed new information on the behaviors and seasonal migrations of whales and dolphins.  For instance, by examining the songs of blue whales, dialects were discovered that help to discriminate distinct regional populations. Hildebrand’s work also has documented that ocean noise levels from commercial shipping have increased dramatically over the past few decades, raising concerns about the potential impact of ocean noise on marine mammals.

Born in San Diego, California, Hildebrand received a B.S. in physics and electrical engineering from UCSD and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University. He held a research position at SIO before joining the Scripps faculty.

He has served on the Marine Mammal Commission’s board of scientific advisors and is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.  He is a member of the Society for Marine Mammology.  He is the author or coauthor of more than 220 scientific publications.

Last updated September 2023