The U.S. Government is closed. This site will not be updated; however NOAA websites and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained. To learn more, visit www.commerce.gov. For the latest forecast and critical weather information, visit www.weather.gov. 

The U.S. government is closed. This site will not be updated; however, NOAA websites and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained. To learn more, visit commerce.gov. 

For the latest forecasts and critical weather information, visit weather.gov.

Greg Piniak smiles

Greg Piniak, PhD

  • Marine Spatial Ecology Deputy Division Chief; Beaufort Laboratory Director
  • Beaufort Laboratory

Piniak is the Deputy Chief of the Marine Spatial Ecology Division, and Director of the NOAA Beaufort Lab.

Piniak’s research interests have been primarily in coral reef ecology, but time for that is sparse since moving into management in 2010. Pre-reorg, he supervised a stressors branch (HABs/contaminants/climate) in Silver Spring and the facilities branch in Beaufort. Piniak has been an NCCOS employee since 2005 and was a Mendenhall postdoc with the USGS in Santa Cruz from 2003-2004. Piniak has done coral reef work in Bermuda, Florida, Hawaii (Maui, Big Island, Molokai), American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Navassa, and the Marshall Islands.

Piniak has a Ph.D. in Ecology from Duke University and a B.S. in Biology from Notre Dame.