Linda Zall

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Linda Zall is an environmental scientist who previously worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. While at the CIA she was responsible for establishing in 1992 a task force named Medea, which specialized in using spy satellite images to produce environmental data. [1] [2]

Contents

Personal life

Zall grew up in North Hornell, New York. Her father was the manager of a large dairy. [1] He later became a professor at Cornell University, retiring as Professor Emeritus. [3]

Zall married and divorced Charles Sheffield, an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction writer. The pair had two daughters Elizabeth and Victoria Sheffield. [4] [5]

Education

Zall received a PhD in civil and environmental engineering from Cornell University. While at the school, she was mentored by Donald J. Belcher. [1]

Career

Zall worked at the Earth Satellite Corporation From 1975 to 1984 before moving to the CIA in 1985. She retired in 2013. [1] She was awarded the Career Intelligence Medal by CIA Director John Brennan in 2013, and the Intelligence Medal of Merit by CIA Director George Tenet in 2000. In 2023, Zall was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Broad, William (5 January 2021). "Inside the C.I.A., She Became a Spy for Planet Earth". New York Times . Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. Sanchez, Kate (5 January 2021). "Go read these stories about the use of spy satellite images in environmental studies". The Verge . Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/3/6798/files/2016/01/Robert-Zall-1co3ekv.pdf
  4. Pace, Eric (9 January 2002). "Charles Sheffield, 67, Physicist And Author of Science Fiction". New York Times . Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  5. Estrada, Louie (3 November 2002). "Charles Sheffield Dies at 67". Washington Post . Retrieved 6 January 2020.