Dr Richard Spinrad is an internationally recognised scientist, appointed by the Obama administration as NOAA's Chief Scientist in 2014. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is a scientific agency within the US Department of Commerce and warns of dangerous weather, charts seas, guides the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources and conducts research to improve understanding and stewardship of the environment.

Name & Professional Registration

Richard (Rick) W. Spinrad CMarSci FIMarEST

IMarEST Membership Status (Student, Affiliate, Associate, Member or Fellow?)

Fellow (FIMarEST)

Role and organisation

Chief Scientist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Which organisations have you worked for previously?

Oregon State University; US Navy; Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education; George Mason University; The United States Naval Academy; Sea Tech, Inc.; Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Describe a typical workday

Draft and review policies and budgets defining US Government programs in oceanographic research and applications

Describe your academic/training history and how you got to where you are today.

B.A., Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University

M.S. and Ph.D., Oceanography, Oregon State University

What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?

Research management. Organisational engineering.Technology transfer

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Being at the front end of leading edge ocean technology development, and seeing the impact its application has on lives, livelihoods and quality of life

What challenges have you had to overcome?

Becoming knowledgeable in a very broad spectrum of technical fields.

Describe a typical career path to your current role. How does this differ to your career path?

Strong technical training with advanced degrees in science and/or engineering. Extensive experience in the field or at the lab bench. Demonstrated role in law- or policy-making. My background did not include much time working in the policy arena.

How has being a member of the IMarEST helped you in your career?

The social networking has been helpful. As a Yank, IMarEST has been a very useful vehicle for meeting many of my colleagues overseas.

Which professional journals and organisations help you keep up to date with industry news?

IMarEST; AGU; AAAS; MTS

Give us an interesting fact about you!

I was a professional musician at an early age... trumpet and banjo. I was also a competitive diver in college.