|
|
|
Marc Tolson,
a computer specialist and lead database administrator in the
management office of NOAA's Office of Finance and Administration, is NOAA's
newest Employee of the Month. Marc's supervisor calls him a "lifesaver."
When a series of staffing losses coupled with hiring restrictions left NOAA's
Information Technology Center precariously short-handed two years ago, Marc
quickly stepped up to the plate, ensuring that the critical linkage of financial
management and accounting services was not impaired. With experience in
administrating another database system, Marc agreed to "temporarily" fill
in. That was over two years ago.
-- FULL STORY --
Dwight C.
Lee, a NOAA contractor and field engineer, is September’s Team  Member
of the Month. Over the past several years, Dwight’s consistently excellent
support for the National Weather Service’s Radar Operations Center in
Norman, Oklahoma has made the difference in promptly resolving a number
of especially difficult radar outages. Radar serves as a forecaster’s
eyes. As the cornerstone of the National Weather Service’s warning process,
radar enables a forecaster to see into a storm and detect and track severe
weather.
Working with NOAA staff and other contractors, Dwight’s expert field engineering
services recently restored two WSR-88D weather radars to full operation
after catastrophic failures. These failures were the first of their type
in more than a decade of operations. By working 12-15 hours daily, for
nine days straight, Dwight restored the radar to effective operation –
and completed the job in Little Rock, Arkansas three days ahead of schedule.
-- FULL STORY--
| WYOMING
WILDFIRES! |
Harrison Ford thanks NOAA meteorologist Dave Lipson for his efforts
to save homes during last month’s fierce wildfires near Jackson,
Wyoming. Trainee meteorologist Mike Stavish was also on-site. Their
critical fire weather forecasts helped spare every area home from
flames.
Photo by Todd Heitkamp, Riverton, Wyoming acting meteorologist-in-charge
|
| LIFESTYLES
|
|
That's the mellow sound of sax player and National
Weather Service
meteorologist Mike Washington,
who started experimenting with musical instruments at age 10. He's
been playing ever since.
By the time Mike graduated from high school, he was playing professionally
in St. Louis, a hotbed of jazz and blues and his hometown. Mike
went on to college, studied music, and played with the Navy band.
He plays everything from jazz, blues and contemporary to gospel
and classical, but his clear favorite is jazz, especially fused
with contemporary sounds like the late Glover Washington, Jr.’s
jumping rendition of Take Five. Mike’s backed up his cousin, the
late Betty Everett, whose 60’s soul music often hit the top 10.
His sax has graced NOAA’s Silver Spring, Maryland auditorium and
other sites in Maryland and D.C.
 |
Click
here to view clip of Mike playing the sax!
You must have RealVideo player installed!
For information about obtaining and installing this free software,
visit NOAA's
Broadcast website. |
|
| NOAA'S
NEWEST SATELLITE |
“Right
on the Mark”
America’s newest environmental satellite -- the first
NOAA satellite
equipped with a Solar X-ray imager to detect solar storms – has sent
back its first image. This clear, crisp view of the western hemisphere
comes from GOES-12, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
launched in mid-July at Cape Canaveral. “Fine-scale meteorological
features stand out clearly – it’s right on the mark,” said Kathy Kelly,
director of satellite operations at NOAA’s National Environmental
Satellite, Data and Information Service. The new weather satellite
will measure temperature and moisture, view cloud patterns, and monitor
space weather. Following Earth’s rotation, GOES-12 maintains a constant
position from 22,300 miles out in space.
|
|
|
| RARE
SEA TURTLES SURVIVE |
NOAA Fisheries Team Saves "Cold
Stunned" Turtles
by Chris Smith, NOAA Fisheries SE Region and
Jennifer Blackwelder, Florida Marine Research Institute
When the sea's temperature drops below 50 degrees, sea turtles are
at risk of becoming cold stunned. Their bodies cannot withstand such
cold conditions and they become paralyzed, helplessly floating near
the surface where they are vulnerable to scavengers and illness.
A major sea turtle cold stunning event occurred earlier this year
in St. Joseph Bay, about 30 miles southeast of Panama City, Fla. Reports
of cold stunned turtles began flooding into NOAA Fisheries Panama
City Laboratory following the precipitous and unprecedented chilling
of the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in late December and early January.
--
FULL STORY--
|
USA's
first tsunami-ready communities, both in Washington State, were honored
by the National Weather Service for voluntarily meeting the weather
service's requirements for citizen and property safety.
See Happenings |
| DR.
NANCY FOSTER SCHOLARSHIPS |
This
is what we hope we can do for
motivated students like yourselves.
Help you open a door and help you
take another step toward your dream.
-- Dr. Nancy Foster
Five outstanding graduate-level researchers have received newly established
Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships. To honor Dr. Foster’s life work and
national contributions, Congress created the scholarships soon after
her death in June 2000. Dr. Foster was director of NOAA’s National
Ocean Service.
Scholarship recipients represent the fields of oceanography, marine
biology and maritime archaeology. Each receives an annual stipend
of $16,800 and up to $12,000 annually for tuition. Doctorate students
are eligible to continue the scholarship program for four years and
Masters-level students for two years.
NOAA received over 500 applications for the first five awards. Recipients
are: Winnie Wing Yee Lau, for doctoral
studies in biological oceanography at the University of Washington
where she is focused on ecosystem management; Ku'ulei
S. Rodgers, for doctoral studies in marine biology with a focus
on coral reefs at the University of Hawaii; Stefan
Claesson, for doctoral studies in natural resources at the
University of New Hampshire where he is developing a Geographic Information
System for the management and preservation of maritime cultural resources
in New England; Jennifer Wagner Whiteis,
for doctoral research using a combination of multiple satellite sensors
and in situ data to examine the impact of global climate change on
Caribbean corals; and Laurie Ann Sorabella,
for Masters studies in marine biology at the Virginia Institute of
Marine Science, where her research centers on estuarine and coastal
habitat restoration and citizen involvement.
A call for 2002-2003 applications is expected this fall. http://fosterscholars.noaa.gov
|
|
