Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D.

Haas Distinguished Visitor, Stanford University

204 - Science Serving Society: Reflections on Four Years at the Helm of a Federal Agency

Dr. Jane Lubchenco is a marine ecologist and environmental scientist with expertise in oceans, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being. Nominated by President Obama in December 2008 as part of his "Science Dream Team," she served as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 2009-2013. Under her leadership, NOAA focused on restoring fisheries to sustainability and profitability, restoring oceans and coasts to a healthy state, ensuring continuity of the Nation's weather and other environmental satellites, developing a Weather-Ready Nation, promoting climate science and delivering climate information and services to inform understanding and adaptation, strengthening science and ensuring scientific integrity at NOAA, and delivering the highest quality science, services and stewardship possible.

Dr. Lubchenco is currently the Haas Distinguished Visitor in Public Service at Stanford University. She received her B.A. in biology from Colorado College, M.S. in zoology from the University of Washington, and Ph.D. in ecology from Harvard University. Her career as a professor began at Harvard University and continued at Oregon State University. She served as president of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and 10 years on the National Science Board. One of the "most highly cited" ecologists in the world, eight of her publications are recognized as "Science Citation Classics." She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Royal Society. She has received numerous awards including a MacArthur "genius" award, 19 honorary doctorates, the Heinz Award for the Environment, and was named "2010 Newsmaker of the Year" by the journal Nature, and was inducted into WITI's Women in Science and Technology Hall of Fame in 2012.

Dr. Lubchenco is passionate about promoting the discovery, communication, and use of scientific knowledge in policy and management. She co-founded a research consortium, PISCO, that studies the near-shore ocean along the coasts of Oregon and California. She co-founded three organizations [The Leopold Leadership Program, the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea (COMPASS), and Climate Central] that enhance communication of scientific knowledge to the public, policy makers, media and industry. And at NOAA, she strengthened science and the use of scientific knowledge in policy and management.