Retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, yesterday announced his resignation, effective Oct. 31. Lautenbacher served as NOAA's eighth administrator for nearly seven years.
Under Lautenbacher's leadership, NOAA was instrumental in the creation of the Papahanoumokuakea Marine National Monument, the world's second largest area dedicated to marine preservation. Lautenbacher contributed to the president's American Oceans Campaign and worked with Congress to pass the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization, which requires that overfishing end by 2011.
Another significant accomplishment during Lautenbacher's tenure included creation of NOAA's Aquaculture Program. He also commissioned eight new ships into the NOAA fleet, including four acoustically quiet fisheries survey vessels and the Okeanos Explorer, the first U.S. ship dedicated to exploration.
