has been a driving force in building the nation’s commitment to exploring the oceans and increasing our understanding of how changes in ocean activity relate to global warming, severe weather and marine life.
McLean’s interest in the Earth’s waters was piqued by his father’s tales of adventures on and love of the high seas during World War II. When he learned about the NOAA Corps, a uniformed service that operates vessels that collect data in the ocean and the air, he saw a way to learn more about the ocean.
Up until then, there had not been an organized federal program for ocean exploration, said Jesse Ausubel, who in 2001 was serving on a presidential panel that sketched out a plan for ocean exploration. “It’s one thing to be the dreamy, starry-eyed strategist coming up with all sorts of clever ideas,” said Richard Spinrad, the undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. “It’s another to say, ‘Here’s the clever idea and here’s how we’re going to build something.’”
Spinrad credits McLean with building the framework for the observation systems that are “critical to our ability to forecast weather and climate in the time ranges of a few weeks to a few months, which is worth its weight in gold and platinum for farming, transportation, commerce and so many different fields.”
Research Congratulations, Mr. McLean! Your selection as a finalist is well deserved!