Andrew is a post-doctoral researcher in North Carolina focused on population and conservation genetics in hydrothermal vent communities.



David is a graduate student in Florida. He studies the ecology and conservation of sharks.




Amy is a graduate student in North Carolina studying local ecological knowledge within small scale fisheries.



Chuck is a graduate student in North Carolina focusing on apex predators and how they interact with fisheries.




Lyndell is a graduate student in North Carolina, studying the feeding ecology of cownose rays.




Iris is a graduate student in Washington studying habitat use and feeding habits of juvenile Pacific salmon and herring in Puget Sound.



Michael is a graduate student in Maryland investigating the visual systems of mantis shrimp.



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Open thread for NOAA scientists to speak freely about scientific and technical matters based on their official work without approval from the public affairs office or their supervisors.

Yesterday the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) released their new scientific integrity policy, which specifically states that:

“To support a culture of openness, one of the policy’s key provisions affirms unequivocally that NOAA scientists may speak freely with the media and public about scientific and technical matters based on their official work without approval from the public affairs office or their supervisors.”

source

This new policy is a major step forward for government transparency and promotes the free and open exchange of knowledge among scientists in a public forum. Well done, NOAA.

Are you a NOAA scientist with something to get off you chest? Maybe you’d just like voice your support (or disdain) for the new integrity policy? Or perhaps you’d like to test the waters with an innocuous, but unsupervised, public statement? Please use the comment thread of this (or any other) post as an open forum for you to speak freely about scientific and technical matters based on your official work without approval from the public affairs office or your supervisors.