CONTACT:  Patricia Viets, NOAA                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                  7/1/98

Kurt J. Schnebele, an oceanographer with extensive experience in field work, data processing and analysis, and technical program management, has been named deputy director of the National Oceanographic Data Center in Silver Spring, Md. The center is part of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The facility is the nation's repository and dissemination center for global oceanographic data. It manages and distributes physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic data collected by organizations in the United States and dozens of other countries around the world.

"I'm very proud to be at NODC. It's a great institution with a vital role to serve both nationally and internationally," Schnebele said.

Schnebele retired from the NOAA Corps in 1997 after serving for 26 years. He served aboard several NOAA ships, including Oceanographer, Peirce, and was commanding officer of the Ferrel and R/V Vickers. On shore, he served with the National Ocean Service and NOAA's Atlantic Marine Center. He also was an assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and, most recently, the executive director of NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

"Kurt and I worked together on two previous occasions," said NODC director Henry Frey. "He conducted a major tide and current survey of Delaware Bay while we were at the National Ocean Service, and we served together at NOAA's research office. It was a pleasure working with Kurt before, and I am enthusiastically looking forward to doing so again."

Schnebele holds a B.S. and M.S. in oceanography from the University of Washington and the Naval Postgraduate School, respectively. His awards include the Navy Commendation Medal, two NOAA Commendation Medals, NOAA Special Achievement Awards, and Unit Citations. He lives in Silver Spring, Md., with his wife, Arlene Seckel, and two daughters, Annalee and Karel Anne.

The National Oceanographic Data Center is part of the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, which also operates a climatic data center and a geophysical data center.