Dave Haas is a conservation technologist, wildlife technology innovator, software engineer and systems architect based in Durham, North Carolina. He holds a Ph.D. in Marine Science & Conservation from Duke University and is a National Geographic Explorer. His work sits at the intersection of wildlife technology, software engineering, biologging, acoustics, ecophysiology, and conservation science.

From 2022 through June 2026, Dave founded and led FaunaLabs, a conservation technology nonprofit developing advanced biologging, sensing, and software systems for wildlife research. As Executive Director, Chief Scientist, and lead platform architect, he worked across the complete technology stack—from embedded firmware, sensors, and local device APIs to researcher-facing Python applications, AWS cloud infrastructure, scientific-data pipelines, acoustic processing, and AI/ML-assisted analysis. FaunaLabs’ funded operations wound down in June 2026 after grant funding ended.

Dave’s conservation research has focused on developing and applying technologies to better understand animals in the wild. His work has included non-invasive physiological tagging of dolphins and whales, passive-acoustic and behavioral research with Southern Resident Killer Whales, and international field research in Brazil studying whale behavior, acoustics, and physiological responses to human-generated sound.

Before returning to science and conservation, Dave spent nearly two decades building software companies and technology organizations. At PopCap Games, makers of Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Worldwide Game Studios as the company grew from 11 employees to more than 450 before its acquisition by Electronic Arts.

Photo by Kathy Cowell.