Last week NCCOS hosted the 2017 NOAA Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (CCME) Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. The event brought together science leads and faculty researchers to coordinate partnership activities that support CCME and NOS’s mutual science and workforce development goals. CCME was created last fall through a cooperative agreement administered through the NOAA Office of Education. The center’s primary mission is to train students in NOAA mission-related sciences to grow the pipeline of minority STEM professionals available for recruitment by NOAA and other science agencies. The center’s focus areas are directly aligned with the NOS Roadmap.
The annual meeting created an opportunity to build relationships between CCME and NOS. NOS Deputy Assistant Administrator Nicole Le Beouf provided opening remarks alongside CCME Director Dr. Larry Robinson. NOAA attendance included science staff from NCCOS, the Office for Coastal Management, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. As CCME Technical Monitor, NCCOS Director Dr. Steven Thur is the NOS lead point-of-contact for further coordination of NOS–CCME partnership activities.
For more information, contact Steven.Thur@noaa.gov.