Solicitation of Nominations for Membership on the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC). ACTION: Notice of Solicitation of Nominations for Membership on the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board. SUMMARY: NOAA seeks nominations to fill vacancies on the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB), which was established (per 33 U.S. Code § 3405) to advise NOAA leadership on priority areas for survey, discovery, and opportunities for extramural collaboration and partnerships; development of a 5-year strategic plan for the fields of ocean, marine, and Great Lakes science, exploration, and discovery; the quality and effectiveness of the proposal review process; market barriers to development or commercialization of novel ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization products, processes, and tools; best practices to improve data management, processing, storage, and archiving standards; and other matters as requested by the NOAA Administrator. Members of the OEAB are appointed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator (hereinafter, Under Secretary), to assure balanced representation among preeminent scientists, engineers, educators, and science policy experts reflecting the breadth of NOAA's areas of responsibility. Membership will be open to individuals from academia; local, state or tribal government; industry; non-governmental not-for-profit organizations; and other ocean-related institutions. Race or sex shall not be considered in selection of OEAB members. The Under Secretary shall appoint OEAB members generally for three-year terms, renewable once for an additional term of up to three years. Members serve at the discretion of the Under Secretary. DATES: Nominations should be sent to the email address specified below and must be received no more than 45 days after publication of this notice. ADDRESSES: Nominations should be directed to the Designated Federal Officer via email: oceanexplorer@noaa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested persons may nominate themselves or others for OEAB membership. An application package is required for all candidates, including those nominated by third parties. The application package must include the following: (1) The nominee's full name, title, institutional affiliation, and contact information; (2) The nominee's area of industry perspective (academia, commercial service provider, or end-user); (3) A short description of qualifications relative to the advice solicited in this Notice; and (4) A current resume (maximum of four pages). The application package must be provided in a single email sent to the OEAB DFO at the electronic address provided above with the subject line “Application for OEAB Membership 2026”. Nikola Garber, Deputy Director, National Sea Grant College Program, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.