Aboard the R/V Chesapeake at the
Co-Operative Oxford Lab during RDML Galluadet’s May 15, 2018 visit (l to r): Mr. Jason Spires, Dr. A.K. Leight, Dr. Steve Thur, Mr. Brandon Elsner, Fr. Erica Towle, Captain Mike Simenson, RDML Tim Galluadet, COL Director Suzanne Skelley, Dr. Shawn McLaughlin. Credit: NOAA

Rear Admiral (RDML) Timothy Gallaudet, Acting NOAA Administrator, and staff visited NCCOS’ Cooperative Oxford Lab (COL) on May 15, 2018 to learn about the lab’s research. The entourage was hosted by the Director of NCCOS/COL, the Director of the Fish Health and Hatcheries Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), the Director of NCCOS, and COL scientists. The breadth of COL’s frontline research and the strong partnerships and collaborations among on-campus partners, NOAA, MD DNR and U.S. Coast Guard, were shared with RDML Gallaudet, LTJG Rachel Pryor, (Flag Aid), Dr. Erica Towle, National Ocean Service liaison in NOAA’s Program Coordination Office, and Mr. Brandon Elsner, Senior Policy Advisor to the NOAA Administrator. Research highlights presented by COL scientists focused on oyster ecosystem services, ecological forecasting of bacterial pathogens, and fish habitat planning. The Acting Administrator addressed NOAA and MD DNR staff in an All Hands Meeting in a newly refurbished pavilion where RDML Gallaudet also took time to converse one-on-one with NOAA, MD DNR and U.S. Coast Guard individuals about their specific work. The Acting Administrator and his staff were then escorted to Cambridge, MD where RDML Gallaudet presented the commencement address to graduates of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES). Following the graduation ceremony, RDML Gallaudet boarded NOAA’s R/V Chesapeake and embarked on a journey down the Choptank River for on-water discussions about; shorelines, oyster marking, water quality, fish community composition and other ecological assessment efforts in NOAA’s Choptank River Complex Habitat Focus Area. The visit was in response to RDML Gallaudet’s request to learn more about the lab as he familiarizes himself with the scope of NOAA’s work during his first months of service as NOAA’s Acting Administrator.

For more information contact: Suzanne Skelley