NOAA Seeks Nominations to Fill the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board

22 June 2026

(Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 ROV Shakedown)

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 the 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.