The NOAA Administrator's Award is an award of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA). The award is granted by the

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere The under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, or USC(OA), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the environmental and scientifi ...

, who serves concurrently as the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The award, which may go to an individual or a group, is presented in recognition of significant contributions to NOAA programs. The award is presented to civilian employees of NOAA as a plaque and as a medal set to members of the

NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (informally the NOAA Corps) is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( ...

. Individual recipients of the award receive a monetary award of $5,000. Recipients of group awards split the monetary award evenly. Administrator's Award recipients are formally recognized at an award ceremony held annually.

Award criteria

The NOAA Administrator's Award is granted to recognize recognition of significant contributions to NOAA programs. Eligible contributions must be in the areas of Equal Employment Opportunity, program management, scientific research, public service, engineering development, environmental conservation, policy development, administrative support, public affairs, and information systems. Nominations for the Administrator's Award are reviewed by the NOAA Incentive Awards Board (NIAB). During the board's review of the nomination the following factors are considered: * The importance of the cited contribution, as well as the urgency of its need, to NOAA programs * How unique and original is the cited contribution * Did the cited contribution bring unusual credit to NOAA and Department of Commerce (DOC) * Did the contribution result in an unusually important and clearly demonstrated improvement in a NOAA program * In the case of nominated supervisors, did the cited contribution demonstrate significant leadership skills * Did exceptional leadership, skill, ingenuity, or ability displayed in administration or performance of duties accomplish significant savings in money, time, staff resources, or equipment * Creation or development of a major improvement in a service which results in a high degree of benefit to NOAA or DOC * Successful implementation of new or improved policies in NOAA * Exceptional skill and ingenuity in focusing on policy needs * Contributions in engineering development in the areas of applied technology systems or equipment developed * Important scientific research contributions * Excellence in program and/or project planning which includes developing a clear concept based on mission requirements, developing a plan, including cost, schedule, and performance milestones, and the completion of predetermined milestones

Medal appearance

The NOAA Administrator's Award Medal is made of

red brass Gun metal, also known as red brass in the United States, is a type of bronze – an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc. Proportions vary but 88% copper, 8–10% tin, and 2–4% zinc is an approximation. Originally used chiefly for making guns, i ...

with a matte finish. The medal is in diameter. It hangs from a ring suspension.Unknown
/ref> The ribbon is wide primarily of forget-me-not blue. The edges are wide

ultramarine blue Ultramarine is a deep blue pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. Its lengthy grinding and washing process makes the natural pigment quite valuable—roughly ten times more expensive than the stone it comes fr ...

, bisected by a white stripe of . Subsequent awards are denoted by 5/16 inch gold

award stars A inch star (9.7mm) is a miniature gold or silver five-pointed star that is authorized by the United States Armed Forces as a ribbon device to denote subsequent awards for specific decorations of the Department of the Navy, Coast Guard, Public H ...

Notable recipients

* Harold E. Brooks * Evan Forde *

Christopher Landsea Christopher William "Chris" Landsea is an American meteorologist, formerly a research meteorologist with the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory at NOAA, and now the Science and Operations Office ...

* Anita L. Lopez * Michael S. Devany *

Isidoro Orlanski Isidoro Orlanski (born 1939) is an Argentine-American atmospheric physicist, meteorologist, and ocean scientist. He is known for his contributions to the dynamics of weather systems, ocean currents and mesoscale meteorology. He is an emeritus p ...

* Stephanie Herring

References

{{reflist, 2 Awards and decorations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration