Contact:  Stephanie Kenitzer            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                        Dec. 21, 1998 

Carl Staton has been selected as director of the National Weather Service's Central Operations, the national center responsible for operating the sophisticated computer systems that run numerical weather prediction models and build the nation's huge real-time weather databases. Nearly every weather forecast made in the U.S. and many others worldwide is based on these models and databases.

Central Operations, located in Camp Springs, Md., is one of the nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction, operated by the National Weather Service. The NWS is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which operates under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Staton will manage the daily operations of the center and the installation of a new supercomputer, designed to improve weather, flood and climate forecasts as part of the extensive modernization of the NWS.

"Carl will be a tremendous asset to our organization," said Jack Kelly, director of the NWS. "He has excellent skills in managing computational systems and in networking them together, and will bring strong leadership to an already highly skilled team."

Staton joins the NWS from a sister agency, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution, responsible for processing, distributing, and archiving data from NOAA and non-NOAA polar and geostationary satellites. Prior to his work at NESDIS, which began in 1979 as a computer specialist, Staton worked with General Electric and Singer-Link Inc. in programming and systems integration.

He earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from North Carolina State University. Throughout his tenure with NOAA, he has earned numerous awards, including the Bronze Medal, the highest honorary award given by NOAA.

Staton is married to Jane D'Aguanno and they reside in Olney, Md.