The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, pronounced “Noah”) is a US government science agency with a two-fold mission:
- Understand and predict changes in Earth’s environment
- Conserve and manage coastal and marine resources
As a subset of the US Department of Commerce, however, NOAA leadership has at times been criticized for a “disconnect” between its science and policy recommendations, particularly on ecological issues.
President Obama’s appointment of Dr. Jane Lubchenco may change that.
Dr. Jane Lubchenco
Dr. Lubchenco, considered by her peers to be a world class ecologist, set the stage for her tenure as NOAA’s new Chief Administrator in a March 2009 interview with Science and Nature magazines when she stated: “Clearly, science is a priority for me.”
She explained further that,
"It's my belief that a resilient society and economy depend on informed decisions regarding environmental challenges and resource-management issues. The role of science is to provide the knowledge to do that informing."
While ocean-management decision-making will always take into account values, politics, and economics, Dr. Lubchenco made it clear that during her watch, good, credible science will also be at the decision-making table. As she noted in the Science and Nature interview,
"NOAA, as an applied-science agency, has the responsibility to develop and communicate and use science to make policy and management decisions, but also to inform policy and management decisions that are made by others."
Education, Professional Associations, and Awards
Dr. Lubchenco is a graduate of Colorado College, receiving her Masters degree from the University of Washington and Ph.D. from Harvard University in marine ecology. She taught at Harvard for two years, and prior to her appointment with NOAA has served on the faculty at Oregon State University since 1977.
In the course of her career she has established world class scientific credentials. Eight of her publications are considered “Science Citation Classics”, and she is lauded as one of the “most highly cited” ecologists in the world (top 0.5%).
She is:
- A former president of the International Council for Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Ecological Society of America
- A two-term presidential-appointee on the National Science Board, which advises both Congress and the president as well as overseeing the National Science Foundation
- An adviser with the Pew Oceans Commission and the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative
- An elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Society, and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World.
Her awards include:
- A MacArthur ("Genius") Fellowship
- Nine honorary degrees
- The 2002 Heinz Award in the Environment
- The 2003 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest
- The 2004 Environmental Law Institute Award
- The 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology
Science and Policy Impact
As noted in her Biography for the 2002 Heinz Award in the Environment:
[Jane Lubchenco] has shown that, while science should be excellent, pure and dispassionate, scientists should not sacrifice their right – and must not ignore their responsibility – to communicate their knowledge about how the earth is changing or to say what they believe will be the likely consequences of different policy options.
With her experience as both a world class scientist and an active player in national policy discussions, Dr. Jane Lubchenco appears uniquely placed to forge exactly what outsiders have been suggesting for years: an effective link between NOAA’s science and US marine resource policy.
Sources
Gather. April 4, 2009. New NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco Says Science is Her Top Priority. May 29, 2009.
Oregon State University. 2009. Jane Lubchenco. May 29, 2009.
The Heinz Awards. 2009. Bio: Jane Lubchenco. May 31, 2009.
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