Cynthia (Cindi) Barton, Ph.D., L.HG., L.G., is director of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Science Center in Tacoma, WA, which is part of the Department of Interior (DOI). She has held this position since 1998, when she became the first woman to lead a USGS western region Water Science Center. Dr. Barton is an accomplished scientist and an effective leader who is committed to science education.

The USGS Water Science Center in Tacoma, Washington, conducts basic and applied water research in support of management, protection and conservation of water in the State of Washington. Dr. Barton oversees the Science Center's headquarters in Tacoma and three field stations located in Spokane, Kennewick, and Sedro Woolley. Dr. Barton's leadership and management have resulted in building increased communication and partnerships with local, state, and tribal organizations, and new research programs that address current and future water science needs of the State of Washington. For her achievements, Dr. Barton was awarded a USGS Special Achievement Award in 2002, Innovations in Integrated Science Award in 2005 and the Northwest Science Strategy Success Award in 2008.

Dr. Barton has been with the USGS since 1984. Before becoming director of the USGS Washington Water Science Center, she was a researcher in the USGS Water Science Center in New Jersey, specializing in hydrogeology and water quality. Dr. Barton's research provided an understanding of how land use practices influence shallow ground water quality. Subsequently, Dr. Barton became director of water research for the USGS in the Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania working to address water quality issues related to contamination of the Chesapeake Bay, agricultural practices and coal mining. In 1989, Dr. Barton became director of the Water Science Center in Lansing, Michigan. Her innovative development of water research in Michigan, particularly research related to contaminant vulnerability models, contamination of the Great Lakes and inland lakes, availability of drinking water supplies, and effectiveness of bioremediation techniques earned her DOI's Superior Service Award in 1995.

Prior to joining the USGS, Dr. Barton held faculty positions in the Department of Geology at Western Michigan University and the College of Charleston, where she studied metamorphic rocks and minerals to better unravel the history of mountain building processes. She received her A.B. degree in geology from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, her M.A. degree in geology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D. in geology specializing in metamorphic petrology, mineralogy and geochemistry, from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Barton is a member of Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, the Geological Society of America and the American Water Resources Association.