Partners
Partnerships are absolutely essential to PMEL’s success and also benefit the larger research community. The laboratory would not be able to function without numerous partnerships at many different levels. Partners act as providers of resources and expertise not available within the laboratory, and range from those within NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) to those across the globe in the international community. By sharing PMEL's expertise and resources with our partners, we also increase the productivity of our collaborators on mutually beneficial projects.
OAR Partnerships
OAR primarily conducts research using two mechanisms: laboratories and programs. There is a close relationship between the OAR laboratories (such as PMEL), which maintain the scientific expertise to conduct critical research, and the OAR programs, which provide much of the funding to conduct that research. The primary components of the NOAA Research network are:
- NOAA Research Laboratories
- National Sea Grant College Program
- NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
- NOAA Climate Program Office
- Office of Weather and Air Quality
- NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- NOAA Ocean Acidification Program
NOAA Partners
One mission of the OAR labs is to conduct research to support the NOAA operational line offices. In some cases, these line offices provide funding support for specific research products that benefit that particular line office. In other cases, the collaborations are among scientific personnel with mutual interests in a topic of study. PMEL works closely with the following NOAA line offices:
Academic Partners
PMEL works very closely with many university partners. The strongest connection with U.S. universities is through the national network of Cooperative Institutes (CIs). Approximately one-half of the PMEL workforce is made up of CI employees. CIs are absolutely essential to the productivity and success of the laboratory's research programs. They foster important collaborations with university scientists, as well as provide NOAA with access to a broad range of university facilities and resources that would otherwise be unavailable. PMEL has scientists and technical staff with the following CI's:
- University of Washington's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO)
- Oregon State University's Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies (CIMRS)
- University of Alaska at Fairbanks' Cooperative Institute For Alaska Research (CIFAR)
- University of Hawaii's Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR)
National and International Partners
PMEL also relies heavily on partnerships with other government agencies, private industry, non-governmental organizations, U.S. State Agencies, and international organizations and governments to increase its scientific productivity.