KEITH DIXON OF SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., IS A NOAA RESEARCH EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

Keith Dixon, a research meteorologist at NOAA’s Princeton laboratory, is one of four Employees of the Year for 2005 from NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Each year, OAR recognizes those among us who have made very special contributions to promoting excellence in our organization,” said Richard D. Rosen, assistant administrator of the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. “Keith is one of those people who promote excellence through his initiative, commitment, effort, and competence.”

Dixon, a South Brunswick, N.J., resident, has been employed at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory for 21 years. He was cited for his “superb leadership, personal dedication to excellence, and significant contributions to climate change simulations for the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

“I am very pleased to be recognized for doing work that I enjoy and believe to be critically important to further our scientific understanding of climate change and variability, so as to enhance society's ability to respond,” Dixon said.

A ceremony to honor the four, Dixon, Rich Beeler of Longmont, Colo., and Sherry Hostetler and Maureen McMahon of Olney, will be held March 15 in Silver Spring, Md.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through research to better understand atmospheric and climate variability and to manage wisely our nation's coastal and marine resources.

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