The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a Washington, D.C.–based scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce, a United States federal government department. The agency is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep sea exploration, and managing fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the U.S. exclusive economic zone.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency overseen by the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is made up of scientifically and technically trained officers. The NOAA Corps and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are the only U.S. uniformed services that consist only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps' primary mission is to monitor oceanic conditions, support major waterways, and monitor atmospheric conditions.
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is an American geologist, oceanographer, and former NASA astronaut and US Navy officer. She was a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions.
The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) is a federal laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs). The PMEL is split across two sites in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle, Washington and Newport, Oregon.
Jane Lubchenco is an American environmental scientist and marine ecologist who teaches and conducts research at Oregon State University. Her research interests include interactions between the environment and human well-being, biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable use of oceans and the planet. From 2009 to 2013, she served as Administrator of NOAA and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. In February 2021, she was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as Deputy Director for Climate and Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) was a United States Federal executive agency created in 1965 as part of a reorganization of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission was to unify and oversee the meteorological, climatological, hydrographic, and geodetic operations of the United States. It operated until 1970, when it was replaced by the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, or USC(OA), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States secretary of commerce on the environmental and scientific activities of the department. The under secretary is dual hatted as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Commerce Department.
Barry Lee Myers is an American attorney and businessman who was the chief executive officer and general counsel for AccuWeather, a privately owned for-profit weather-forecasting company founded by his elder brother, Joel Myers. As an AccuWeather executive, Myers lobbied unsuccessfully to restrict or undermine the National Weather Service, a governmental service which provides free weather forecasting and thus competes with AccuWeather's business model.
Donald James Baker is an American scientist who was trained as a physicist, practiced as an oceanographer, and has held science and management positions in academia, non-profit institutions, and government agencies. He a former Under Secretary of Commerce for Atmosphere and Oceans and Administrator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and currently Director, Global Carbon Measurement Program, William J. Clinton Foundation working with forestry programs in developing countries with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and at the same time helping alleviate poverty.
Timothy Cole Gallaudet is an American oceanographer who is a retired Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. Gallaudet previously served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere within the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this function, he fulfilled the role of Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) until February 24, 2019. He was the longest-tenured Acting Administrator of NOAA in the organization's history at the time he was replaced, but was subsequently surpassed by his successor, Neil Jacobs. Currently, he is the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC., and host of The American Blue Economy Podcast.
Neil Andrew Jacobs, Jr. is an American scientist and former government official who served as the acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jainey Kumar Bavishi is an American government official who has served since January 2023 as the assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, as well as the deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the Biden administration.
Marvin L. Adams is a nuclear engineer and computational physicist. Since April 2022, he has served as Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in the Biden administration.
