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Name: Spinrad, Richard
Current Position: Previous Assistant Administrator
After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, Richard W. Spinrad earned an M.S. in physical oceanography and a Ph.D. in marine geology from Oregon State University. He began his career as a research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, where his study of the relationship between water clarity and marine biological productivity was critically acclaimed.
Spinrad served as manager of oceanographic research at the Office of Naval Research and was first manager of the Navy’s ocean optics program. He eventually became the Division Director for all of the Navy’s basic and applied research in ocean, atmosphere and space modeling and prediction. By 1994 Spinrad became the Executive Director of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education, and in 1999 he became the Technical Director to the Oceanographer of the Navy.
Currently, Dr. Spinrad holds positions in many organizations. He is the United States’ permanent representative to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UN’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, as well as a co-chair for the White House Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Service and Technology. In addition, Spinrad is the President of the Oceanography Society, a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. He was once Editor-in-Chief of Oceanography magazine.
