2004 UNOLS Annual Meeting
Keynote Speaker
Mr. Robert S. Winokur
Technical Director, Oceanographer of the Navy
Chair, Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee
UNOLS is pleased to announce that Mr. Robert Winokur will provide the keynote address at this year’s Annual Meeting.
Mr. Winokur is the Technical Director and Assistant Oceanographer of the Navy. He also serves as the current Chair of the Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee (FOFC). In his position as FOFC Chair, he will lead the Committee as they prepare an update of the Academic Research Fleet long-range renewal plan. Mr. Winokur will speak on the status of the on-going FOFC effort to prepare a coordinated federal oceanographic fleet renewal plan, along with providing an overview of the status of other federal activities currently underway, such as the response to the "Report of the Commission on Ocean Policy", Ocean.US, ocean legislation, and the Joint Subcommittee on Oceans.
Mr. Winokur’s career spans over 40 years and includes work in the areas of undersea technology, satellite remote sensing, meteorology and public policy. He has held senior level positions within the Navy, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the private sector, and the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE).
In 1985, as Technical Director in the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, Mr. Winokur was responsible for providing policy and technical direction for the Navy's $400 million operational oceanography program. He also served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, where he was the senior civilian technical manager for the Navy's Operational Oceanography Program.
In 1993, he served as Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services (NESDIS) within NOAA. He was responsible for the acquisition, processing, dissemination, and exchange of national and international environmental data. From 1997 to 1998, during his tenure at NOAA, he also served as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Weather Services and played a key role in organizing the nation's next generation combined civilian and military polar orbiting environmental satellite program.
In 1998, Mr. Winokur became Vice President and Executive Director of CORE. His responsibilities included fostering and guiding oceanographic programs involving academic, federal and industrial activities, managing the program support office for the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, guiding the Secretariat for the Census of Marine Life, and leading educational outreach programs in the oceanographic sciences, such as the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
He retired from federal service in 1999 and from September 2000 to 2002 served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Earth Satellite Corporation in Rockville, MD. He was responsible for the operation of EarthSat's remote sensing, weather, environmental, GIS and image processing business areas.
In December 2003, Mr. Winokur returned to federal service and is again serving as Technical Director, Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy in Arlington, VA. In July of this year he spoke before the House Resources Committee, Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee on the status of Ocean Observation Systems in the United States.
Mr. Winokur is a long-standing member of the Marine Technology Society (MTS). He has served on the Executive Board as Vice President of Technical Affairs and is a MTS Fellow.
Mr. Winokur’s extensive experience along with his current position as FOFC Chair is sure to provide informative perspectives and views on the various issues facing the oceanographic community. The UNOLS Annual Meeting will be held at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA on Friday, October 15, 2004. Additional details about the meeting will be posted on the UNOLS web site at <www.unols.org>.