June 16, 2006 — NOAA’s primary mission is to serve the nation’s need for oceanic and atmospheric information to support economic, social and environmental prosperity. Fulfilling this mission requires more than just the delivery of accurate and precise scientific information — it also requires properly educating the public so they can translate scientific information into appropriate actions to protect lives, property and the environment. Therefore, NOAA’s education programs focus on those specific science, technology, engineering and math topics where NOAA has unique expertise and where public responsiveness to warnings, forecasts and stewardship efforts is important for meeting NOAA’s mission. NOAA data and information is only useful if individuals can understand, interpret and use it.

As a federal science agency that relies on a highly trained scientific and technical workforce, NOAA also has a vested interest in encouraging young people to become interested in science and eventually pursue higher education and careers in scientific fields. NOAA provides special support/opportunities for students pursuing educational interests/considering careers in NOAA areas of expertise. The article below highlights NOAA’s educational opportunities for these students.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math-Related Higher Education Opportunities
NOAA actively provides students with a variety of opportunities to develop academic excellence and scientific rigor in NOAA’s areas of expertise (e.g., ocean and atmospheric science/research, fisheries, satellites, weather, etc.). Many individuals graduating from these education programs continue their professional careers in the sciences and work for NOAA or partner institutions. The collective efforts of these opportunities are aimed at increasing the size and diversity of the pool of future candidates for STEM-related professional positions.

The NOAA Educational Partnership Program began in 2001 and provides financial assistance, on a competitive basis, to Minority Serving Institutions to increase programs and opportunities for students to be trained and graduate in sciences that directly support NOAA’s mission. The program consists of four core components:

• NOAA Cooperative Science Centers: Four NOAA Cooperative Science Centers have been designated at MSIs with graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences (i.e., Howard University, Florida A&M University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the City College of the City University of New York). To date, NOAA has provided formal training and research opportunities for more than 700 students at these centers.
• NOAA Environmental Entrepreneurship Program: The NOAA Environmental Entrepreneurship Program provides financial assistance to increase the number of students at MSIs who are proficient in both environmental studies and business enterprises. The Program facilitates linkages among MSIs, NOAA and the private sector. Since 2001, approximately 600 have taken courses and participated in education and science training programs funded by the Environmental Entrepreneurship Grants.
• NOAA Graduate Sciences Program: The NOAA Graduate Sciences Program offers training and work experience to exceptional female and minority students pursuing advanced degrees in the environmental sciences. NOAA provides program participants with tuition, a housing allowance, travel expenses and a salary for an annual 16-week work period at a NOAA facility, and the students are mentored by scientists while performing research. After completing the program, participants commit to employment at NOAA based on the length of their training. To date, the Graduate Sciences program has hired 32 graduates as NOAA scientists.
• NOAA Undergraduate Scholarship Program: The NOAA Undergraduate Scholarship Program has sponsored 84 students majoring in NOAA-related sciences at MSIs to obtain tuition assistance and participate in two ten-week summer internships. To date, 41 students have completed the program, with 28 going on to graduate school.

The NOAA Office of Education also sponsors two scholarship programs:

• Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program: The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program, named in honor of the late, distinguished NOAA scientist and Assistant Administrator, recognizes outstanding scholarship and encourages independent graduate level research — particularly by female and minority students — in oceanography, marine biology and maritime archaeology. Congress authorized the Program, as described in the National Marine Sanctuaries Amendments Act of 2000, soon after Dr. Foster's death in June 2000, as a means of honoring her life’s work and contribution to the nation. To date, 22 students have received scholarships.
• Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program: The Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program recruits and prepares students for public service careers with NOAA and other natural resource and science agencies, as well as for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science. This year, the second group of Hollings Scholars are expected to participate in summer internships with NOAA labs and facilities. The Hollings Scholarship Program currently funds more than 100 students in ocean and atmospheric sciences, math, computer science, social science and education.

Other NOAA educational opportunities for students include:

• National Sea Grant Program: The NOAA Ocean and Atmospheric Research’s National Sea Grant program offers several opportunities for graduate students through the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. The Knauss fellowship, established in 1979, provides a unique educational experience for graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The program places highly qualified graduate students at NOAA, NASA the Department of the Interior, NSF and Congressional offices for a one-year paid fellowship. The program is named in honor of one of Sea Grant’s founders, former NOAA Administrator John A. Knauss. Since its inception, there have been more than 550 Knauss fellows and annual program participation by females has averaged 71 percent since 2000.
• NOAA Awards High School Students at the International Science and Engineering Fair: The NOAA Office of Education, presented special awards to three high school students at the 2006 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May 2006. The recipients of the NOAA awards were judged to have performed projects of the highest quality and relevance to NOAA science. The 2006 award recipients were:
  
  • Alexa A. Carey, a junior at Gold Beach High School in Gold Beach, Ore. Her project was entitled "Effectiveness of Strobe Lights, Sound Frequency, and Lasers in reducing Salmon Entrainment Through Hydropower Turbines."
  • John Turner, a junior at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Fla. His project was entitled "Storm Warning: Is There a Predictable Correlation Between the North Atlantic Oscillation and Tropical Cyclone Activity?"
  • Malcolm Bruce Young, a junior at Centraurus High School in Lafayette, Colo. His project was entitled "Coral Bleaching Adaptation."

  The winning students will have the opportunity to participate in NOAA research based on their choice of: a paid summer internship at a NOAA research laboratory, a paid research experience on a NOAA ship at sea or a paid research field experience at a National Marine Sanctuary. Additionally, the students each receive a certificate signed by retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, and an engraved award plaque.

The successful performance of NOAA’s mission depends on having access to the best meteorologists, oceanographers, cartographers, biologists, chemists and engineers to conduct NOAA’s work. As NOAA’s senior scientists become eligible for retirement, NOAA needs to attract well-qualified and trained candidates. This is accomplished through a coordinated series of scholarship and fellowship programs that support education and training in NOAA-related sciences. The best way to ensure NOAA’s scientific leadership and global expertise in oceanic and atmospheric research, observations, forecasting and environmental and ocean health, is to have the best and the brightest students, from a diversity of backgrounds, become fascinated with science education and the environment in which we live. NOAA’s education program actively supports this objective.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Office of Education

An Education Plan for NOAA

NOAA Educational Funding Opportunities

Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program

NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program 2006

Written Testimony By Brigadier General John J. Kelly (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) Deputy Under Secretary National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department Of Commerce Oversight Hearing On K-12 Science And Math Education Across The Federal Agencies Before The Committee On Science U.S. House Of Representatives March 30, 2006

Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Capitol Hill Oceans Week: Creating an Ocean Literate Society June 5, 2002

Science Content and Standards for Ocean Literacy: A Report on Ocean Literacy

CAREERS IN MARINE SCIENCE

NOAA Education Resources

Media Contact:
David Miller, NOAA, (202) 482-6090