704 



18 



Opportunity: Mechanisms, in 

 aaaition to the traditional 

 Intergovernmental Personnel Act, 

 must be developed to encourage 

 cross-fertilization as describecT 

 above. Examples include: 



visiting senior scientists to 

 operators and to policy making 

 organizations, 



participation of industry and 

 other user-community 

 representatives across agency 

 planning and policy lines, 



- graduate education, research 



sabbatical and industry/laboratory 

 appointments for military, 

 government, and policy 

 employees. 



These mechanisms should span from 

 short term exchanges to long term 



appointments. In view of the Info 

 HighwayAVWWeb, it may be 

 feasible to create "virtual 

 appointments" that may also 

 include "video conferencing and 

 meetings." 



Hurdles: The primary hurdle is, of 

 course, availability of manpower 

 and the low priority often assigned 

 to these activities. A subtle 

 problem is the increasing 

 restrictions placed upon the 

 exchanges by unreasonable 

 application\interpretation of 

 conflict-of-interest regulations. 



Rationale for Partnership: A 



partnership would enhance the 

 value of any data being collected, 

 add to the experience base of the 

 participants thereby making them 

 more effective, ana providing all 

 sectors with a resource base that 



was not available to date. All 

 participants could reduce costs for 

 performing oceanographic related 

 tasks, through a reduction in the 

 full-time equivalent positions 

 employed. 



Expected Product: Better 

 understanding of both common and 

 unique issues as well as a basis for 

 improved communications between 

 participants. For the oceanographic 

 research community in government 

 and academia, an opportunity for 

 some to experience industry - its 

 operations and the application of 

 oceanographic data, enhancing the 

 value of the data being collected by 

 applying it in new way. For industry 

 - the resource of an experienced 

 individual (an expert at times) in an 

 application where such "short term" 

 expertise is necessary would be a 

 valuable asset to the operation. 



Subject: Certification of 

 oceanographers 



Background: Traditionally, 

 accomplishment of advanced training 

 in the ocean sciences has been 

 evidenced by Masters and Doctoral 

 degrees. Because oceanography is 

 inherently multi-disciplinary, and 

 because degree requirements vary 

 among institutions, attainment of a 

 graduate degree does not necessarily 

 indicate that degree-holding 

 individuals possess a common set of 

 skills. For purposes of employment of 

 ocean scientists in non-academic 

 careers, it may be desirable to 

 establish a certification program for 

 oceanographers. The professional 

 certification program for 

 meteorologists may serve a successful 

 model on which the ocean science 

 community can build. 



Opportunity: Taking into 

 consideration potential employment 

 opportunities for trained ocean 

 scientists (e.g. in media, education, 

 industry, politics, law) partnerships to 

 establish certification criteria should 

 be formed. Partners could include 

 research institutions, professional 

 societies, industry and government 

 agencies. Criteria would reflect 

 standards set by the ocean science 



community as well as the needs of 

 potential employers. It may be that 

 multiple types of certification are 

 appropriate. These could emphasize 

 particular skills such as 

 communication, computer science, 

 instrument development or knowledge 

 of the legal system. Earning 

 certification in ocean science may 

 require training that differs from the 

 curricula currently followed by 

 oceanographic institutions Orfering 

 ocean scientists-in-training the 

 opportunity to prepare themselves for 

 non-academic careers, and setting 

 standards for certification would serve 

 both the acadepiic community, 

 private industry, and society in 

 general. 



Hurdles: Potentially there will be 

 resistance to proposed certification 

 within the academic community. The 

 reasons for resistance will neea to be 

 identified and addressed. It may not 

 be necessary or even desirable tor all 

 oceanographic institutions to offer 

 certification programs. However for 

 the certification program to be 

 successful, some agreement as to its 

 meaning and value must be reached 

 within the ocean science community. 

 For an ocean science certificate to be 

 useful, there must be jobs for which 

 the certificate is required. At present. 



the bulk of jobs available to 

 oceanographers exist within 

 academic institutions, with smaller 

 numbers of positions existing in 

 government agencies. A market for 

 certified ocean scientists must be 

 established within the private 

 sector. 



Rationale for Partnership: 



Certification criteria will reflect 

 standards set by the academic 

 ocean science community and the 

 needs of potential employers, hence 

 partnership is critical to the success 

 of a certification program. 



Expected Products: As a source of 

 knowledge and skills, certified 

 ocean scientists will help meet 

 society's needs for information 

 about the ocean. Certification will 

 allow the academic community to 

 set and uphold siaTidards that will 

 reflect positively on the research 

 community. Organization of a 

 certification program will bring 

 together the oceanographic 

 community in an unprecedented 

 way, perhaps stimulating re- 

 evaluation of graduate programs 

 and realignment of priorities to 

 benefit both the academic 

 community and society at large. 



PLATFORMS - The oceanographic community is a research platform - intensive group. 

 Urilike many other scientific arenas, the oceanographic field critically depends on 

 efficient community management of surface ships, manned submersibles, autonomous 

 xmderwater vehicles, scientific buoys, and research satellites. Plans for future field 

 work will add capabilities to this Ust (e.g. ocean sampling networks, global observation 

 systems) making the management of these research platforms an even more challenging 

 endeavor. Partnerships are critical for successful application of these facilities. 



