The Marine Technology Society elected Richard (Rick) Spinrad to its Board of Directors as President‐elect. Election results were announced at the Society’s Annual Meeting during OCEANS’12 MTS/IEEE Conference this month in Hampton Roads, VA.
Rick Spinrad brings over 35 years of experience in marine science, policy and operations to his new 2‐year position, which he assumes January 1, 2013. Currently he is Vice President for Research at Oregon State University. Previously he was Technical Director for the Oceanographer of the Navy, and led NOAA’s National Ocean Service and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Said Rick, “The challenges of the near future are daunting: feeding and delivering clean water to a population of over 9 billion people; ensuring a diversity of energy sources while demonstrating strong environmental stewardship; bolstering our national and homeland security. These are just a few of the opportunities for our community of marine technology to engage in aggressively. Our marine science, engineering, technology, education and operations are critical to the solution of these challenges.”
While serving as Technical Director for the Oceanographer of the Navy, and leading NOAA's National Ocean Service and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, he received recognition from the Secretary of the Navy, and Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama for his efforts. Prior to this, Rick served as Executive Director at the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education. He helped develop the National Ocean Partnership Act and Program, and the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Rick has also taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and George Mason University.
A member of MTS since 1995, Rick is also a Fellow of the Society. Said Rick, “MTS's successful leadership of the last decade is reflected well in the society's diversified mission, student engagement, policy advocacy and international outreach. These successes put us in a place to make even more relevant and apparent the benefits of our efforts to society. I look forward to the opportunity to serve on MTS’ Board of Directors.” Rick will serve as President‐elect for two years, and assume the position of Society President for 2015‐16.
The following Vice Presidents were also re‐elected at the MTS Annual Meeting: Debbi Kill, Vice President of Finance, and Lisa Medeiros, Vice President of Sections.