Navy Vice Admiral (ret) CONRAD C. LAUTENBACHER, Ph.D., will deliver a technical and policy address about NOAA. NOAA has been in the Earth information business since our inception. In fact, it has been at the forefront of remote sensing and observation of the Earth for over 40 years, years before our agency was formed. NOAA's mission is to observe and describe changes in the Earth's ecosystems and communicate this information to the public in useful ways. The agency deals with the whole Earth system. This is unique among environmental agencies of the world. The science and management at NOAA, including our climate research, observations and services, helps to sustain a healthy economy, and protect lives and property. Regardless of our disciplines, it is essential that we combine our talents to tackle the tough scientific issues surrounding climate variability and change and related environmental challenges. At NOAA, scientists have a responsibility to provide sound scientific data to the problem-solvers in the engineering community – this sound science is the basis for sound decision-making.

Admiral Lautenbacher is serving as the undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. He was appointed Dec. 19, 2001. Along with this title comes the added distinction of serving as the eighth administrator of NOAA. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in applied mathematics.

Lautenbacher oversees the day-to-day functions of NOAA, as well as laying out its strategic and operational future. The agency manages an annual budget of $4 billion. The agency includes, and is comprised of, the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Services; National Marine Fisheries Service; National Ocean Service; National Weather Service; Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Marine and Aviation Operations; and the NOAA Corps, the nation's seventh uniformed service. He directed an extensive review and reorganization of the NOAA corporate structure to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century. As the NOAA administrator, Lautenbacher spearheaded the first-ever Earth Observation Summit, which hosted ministerial-level representation from several dozen of the world's nations in Washington July 2003.