Contact:

Cynthia M. O'Carroll
Goddard Spc Flt Ctr, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301-614-5563)

NASA SCIENTIST AWARDED DISTINCTION BY FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD

Dr. Chester Koblinsky, an oceanographer and branch head at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is a Silver Award recipient of an Excellence in Federal Career Award presented by the Baltimore Federal Executive Board for being an Outstanding Supervisor.

Koblinsky will be recognized as an outstanding Federal employee at the 36th Excellence in Federal Career Awards Ceremony and Luncheon to be held on May 2 at Martin's West, in Baltimore, Md. This regional program will be held in conjunction with national Public Service Recognition Week, May 5-11.

According to Richard H. Howell, Executive Director of the Federal Executive Board, 239 Gold, Silver and Bronze awards will be awarded to Maryland federal employees and military service members who have performed exceptional and meritorious work.

The awards will be presented by Captain Micheal J. Mangan, U.S. Coast Guard, Chairman, Baltimore Federal Executive Board and Commanding Officer of the USCG Engineering Logistics Center in Baltimore. Performances at the ceremony include musical selections by the United
States Naval Academy Ceremonial Band and the presentation of the Colors and Honors by the Joint Service Color Guard Defense Information School Fort Meade.

Koblinsky leads the Oceans and Ice Branch that concentrates efforts on science activities ranging from studies of the polar regions, ocean biology, and physical oceanography. In addition to making break through discoveries of the earth system with satellite observations, branch
scientists conduct laboratory studies of ocean biology and polar science, field programs on the ice at both poles, as well as at sea around the world, and computer modeling studies of various aspects of the ocean and polar regions. Branch members provide project science leadership for NASA's Aqua and Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite missions and the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project. The branch hosts several visiting scientists during the year, as well as graduate and undergraduate students in the summer.

""Chet has the ability to think without limits, share his ideas without arrogance and inspire others," remarked Robert Bindschadler, Acting Branch Head of the Oceans and Ice Branch. "Chet's leadership, has not only influenced research on oceans and ice within NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, but satellite based research in oceanography and glaciology has extended to ever larger areas of Earth science in other federal agencies, at universities across the country and to countries throughout the world

Koblinsky's most recent achievement was the leadership of a successful proposal for a new NASA Earth explorer satellite to measure global patterns of sea surface salinity for the first time. This new satellite, named Aquarius/SAC-D, will explore the relationship between the global
water cycle, climate and the ocean circulation. The mission is a partnership between Goddard, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and the National Space Commission of the Republic of Argentina. It is scheduled for launch in the fall of 2008.

Koblinsky, a Connecticut native, received a BA with in physics in 1971 from Reed College, Portland, Oregon, and a PhD in oceanography from Oregon State University in 1979. This was followed by a post-doctoral and research position at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in LaJolla, California. In 1983, Koblinsky became a NASA employee in the Geodynamics
Branch at Goddard. In 1991, he was appointed head of the Oceans and Ice Branch.

Koblinsky's honors and awards include a NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal and a Goddard Outstanding Management Award. He has authored more than 60 articles in scientific journals and books. Koblinsky lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife, Sally. Their son,
John, attends Mary Washington College.

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