New line-up for Hydrographic Services Federal Advisory Committee

NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., has appointed six members to the Hydrographic Services Review Panel, a federal advisory committee that gives NOAA independent advice for improving a range of services and products that support navigation and coastal resilience.

New members of the panel are:

• Larry Atkinson, Ph.D., Slover professor of oceanography, Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

• David Maune, Ph.D., senior project manager, Dewberry Consultants, Fairfax, Virginia

• Capt. Salvatore Rassello, director of nautical operations, Carnival Cruise Lines, Miami, Florida

The reappointed members of the panel are:

• Carol Lockhart, Geomatics Data Solutions LLC, San Diego, California

• Joyce Miller, director of seafloor data services, Hawaii Mapping Research Group, University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Honolulu, Hawaii

• Susan Shingledecker, vice president and director of environmental programs, BoatUS Foundation, Alexandria, Virginia

“Providing coastal communities, boaters, and the commercial maritime industry with timely, reliable, accurate, and authoritative information is essential as we strive to keep commerce flowing through our nation’s ports,” said Sullivan. “The Hydrographic Services Review Panel provides NOAA with essential expertise on commercial maritime needs and hydrographic data that is tremendously valuable to us as we work to build resilient communities and businesses along our nation’s coasts.”

The new and reappointed members join current members:

• Rear Admiral Ken Barbor (ret.),  University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
   
• Lawson W. Brigham, Ph.D., University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
   
• Capt. Deborah Dempsey, Columbia River Bar Pilots, Bellingham, Washington
   
• Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields (ret.), NOAA Corps,  Odessa, Florida
   
• William Hanson, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, Washington, D.C.
   
• Gary A. Jeffress, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas
   
• Edward Kelly, Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ, New York, New York
   
• Frank Kudrna, Kudrna & Associates Ltd., Westmont, Illinois
   
• Scott R. Perkins, Surveying and Mapping LLC, Overland, Kansas

The new members will join the panel at their next public meeting from April 8-10 in Long Beach, California, where they will focus on NOAA’s progress in improving data delivery to support precision navigation at the Port of Long Beach, and improving nautical charts for Arctic maritime traffic.

The Hydrographic Services Review Panel is composed of experts in hydrographic surveying, vessel pilotage, port administration, tides and currents, coastal zone management, geodesy, recreational boating, marine transportation, and academia. Admiral Gerd F. Glang, director of the Office of Coast Survey, is the panel’s designated federal official. The directors of the NOAA/University of New Hampshire Joint Hydrographic Center, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey, and NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services serve as nonvoting members.

NOAA established the Hydrographic Services Review Panel in 2003 as directed by the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 2002. The panel functions in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and advises the NOAA administrator on matters related to NOAA’s hydrographic and navigation services.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.