Contact:  Stephanie Kenitzer       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                   June 4, 1997

Ants Leetmaa has been selected as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md.

Leetmaa will oversee the day-to-day operations of the climate center, the leading center for monitoring, analyzing and predicting climate events ranging from weeks to seasons. The Climate Prediction Center is part of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a component of the National Weather Service.

A native of Estonia, Leetmaa has been with NCEP since 1986, most recently as a senior scientist responsible for the development of the coupled ocean-atmosphere numerical model, the foundation of seasonal and interannual climate predictions. Before that, Leetmaa was a researcher at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratories in Miami and a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

"Dr. Leetmaa's extensive background in climate prediction has been and will continue to be an asset to the Climate Prediction Center and NOAA's efforts in extending our long-term climate predictions," said NCEP Director Ron McPherson. "With his expertise, the center will continue to provide invaluable service to the climate community, including the agriculture, energy, transportation, water resources and health industries."

Leetmaa is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where he received his undergraduate degree in physics in 1969. He holds a Ph.D. in oceanography from MIT. Leetmaa is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Steering Committee, and chairman of the CLIVAR Upper Ocean Panel.

The NCEP centers are an integral component of the National Weather Service. The centers support the NWS mission to protect life and property, as well as mitigate economic loss, by providing accurate forecasts and forecast guidance products to weather service field offices and many external users. NCEP consists of nine national centers, seven service-oriented centers and two support centers.

Leetmaa lives in Alexandria, Va., with his wife, Anu Leetmaa. Additional information on NCEP is available on the Internet at http://www.ncep.noaa.gov The CPC Internet address is http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov.