NEWSROOM
NOAA
Administrator to Speak at LSU about Coastal Resiliency
January
16, 2008
BATON ROUGE
– Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator
Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher (retired) will address Louisiana
State University students and faculty on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Lautenbacher’s
talk, titled “NOAA: Helping Build Coastal Resiliency for
Louisiana,” will be at 3 p.m. in the Dalton J. Woods Auditorium,
Energy Coast and Environment Building, located off the Nicholson
Drive Extension. His talk is open to the public.
Lautenbacher
was appointed to his current position in 2001. He oversees the
day-to-day functions of NOAA, as well as determines its strategic
and operational future. The agency is comprised of the National
Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Services; National
Marine Fisheries Service; National Ocean Service; National Weather
Service; Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Marine and Aviation
Operations; and the NOAA Corps, the nation’s seventh uniformed
service.
The Louisiana
Sea Grant College Program, housed at LSU, is part of the National
Sea Grant College Program, which is administered by NOAA.
As NOAA administrator,
Lautenbacher spearheaded the first Earth Observation Summit in
2003. Through subsequent international summits and working groups,
he encouraged world scientific and policy leaders to work toward
a common goal of building a sustained Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS) to collect and disseminate data, information
and models to stakeholders and policy makers for the benefit of
all nations individually and the world community.
Lautenbacher
is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He earned master’s
and doctorate degrees in applied mathematics from Harvard University.
###
Vice
Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
A native of
Philadelphia, Pa., retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher,
Ph.D., is serving as the undersecretary of commerce for oceans
and atmosphere. He was appointed Dec. 19, 2001. Along with this
title comes the added distinction of serving as the eighth administrator
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He holds
an M.S. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in applied mathematics.
Lautenbacher
oversees the day-to-day functions of NOAA, as well as laying out
its strategic and operational future. The agency manages an annual
budget of $4 billion. The agency includes, and is comprised of,
the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Services;
National Marine Fisheries Service; National Ocean Service; National
Weather Service; Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Marine and
Aviation Operations; and the NOAA Corps, the nation’s seventh
uniformed service. He directed an extensive review and reorganization
of the NOAA corporate structure to meet the environmental challenges
of the 21st century.
As the NOAA
administrator, Lautenbacher spearheaded the first-ever Earth Observation
Summit, which hosted ministerial-level representation from several
dozen of the world's nations in Washington July 2003. Through
subsequent international summits and working groups, he worked
to encourage world scientific and policy leaders to work toward
a common goal of building a sustained Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS) that would collect and disseminate data,
information and models to stakeholders and decision makers for
the benefit of all nations individually and the world community
collectively. The effort culminated in an agreement for a 10-year
implementation plan for GEOSS reached by the 55 member countries
of the Group on Earth Observations at the Third Observation Summit
held in Brussels February 2005. Lautenbacher was selected to serve
as co-chair to the Group on Earth Observations at GEO-I in Geneva,
Switzerland in May 2005.
He also has
headed numerous delegations at international governmental summits
and conferences around the world, including the U.S. delegation
to the first and second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ocean
Ministerial Meetings in Korea 2002 and Indonesia 2005, and the
annual meetings of the World Meteorological Organization, Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission and the U.N. Framework Convention on
Climate Change, as well as leading the Commerce delegation to
the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.
Before joining
NOAA, Lautenbacher formed his own management consultant business,
and worked principally for Technology, Strategies & Alliances
Inc. He was president and CEO of the Consortium for Oceanographic
Research and Education (CORE). This not-for-profit organization
has a membership of 76 institutions of higher learning and a mission
to increase basic knowledge and public support across the spectrum
of ocean sciences.
Lautenbacher
is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1964), and has
won accolades for his performance in a broad range of operational,
command and staff positions both ashore and afloat. He retired
after 40 years of service in the Navy. His military career was
marked by skilled fiscal management and significant improvements
in operations through performance-based evaluations of processes.
During his
time in the Navy, he was selected as a Federal Executive Fellow
and served at the Brookings Institution. He served as a guest
lecturer on numerous occasions at the Naval War College, the Army
War College, the Air War College, The Fletcher School of Diplomacy,
and the components of the National Defense University.
His Navy experience
includes tours as Commanding Officer of USS HEWITT (DD-966), Commander
Naval Station Norfolk; Commander of Cruiser-Destroyer Group Five
with additional duties as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command Riyadh during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm,
where he was in charge of Navy planning and participation in the
air campaign. As Commander U.S. Third Fleet, he introduced joint
training to the Pacific with the initiation of the first West
Coast Joint Task Force Training Exercises (JTFEXs).
A leader in
the introduction of cutting-edge information technology, he pioneered
the use of information technology to mount large-scale operations
using sea-based command and control. As Assistant for Strategy
with the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel, and Program
Planning Branch Head in the Navy Program Planning Directorate,
he continued to hone his analytic skills resulting in designation
as a specialist both in Operations Analysis and Financial Management.
During his final tour of duty, he served as Deputy Chief of Naval
Operations (Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments) in
charge of Navy programs and budget.
Lautenbacher
lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Susan who is a life-long
high school and middle school science teacher.
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