As U.S. representative to the IOC, Spinrad will be responsible for representing the United States government in sessions of the organization’s Executive Council and in delegate meetings. Anthony F. Rock, acting assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs, announced Spinrad’s appointment. In this role, Spinrad is charged “to promote the policies and objectives of the United States in the functioning of the Commission and to oversee U.S. participation in the programs carried out under its auspices.”

“I am delighted and humbled to accept the responsibilities of representing the United States and NOAA in this position,” said Spinrad. “The oceans are truly a global concern, and by working together through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission to build partnerships, we can best address the challenges facing us.”

Spinrad is completing his first year as NOS assistant administrator after a distinguished career that included positions with the Office of Naval Research, Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), and as technical director to the Oceanographer of the Navy.

A native of New York City, Spinrad holds both doctoral and masters’ degrees in oceanography from Oregon State University and is a 1975 graduate of Johns Hopkins University where he majored in earth and planetary sciences. Spinrad and his wife, Alanna Wynn Spinrad (nee Thompson), live in Falls Church, Va. They have an adult son, Gary.

The Commerce Department’s NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

National Ocean Service: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov