News Flash: Two Stellar Appointments by Obama

The unofficial word is that President-elect Obama will announce two stellar science appointments today. John Holdren of Harvard University and the Woods Hole Research Center is his pick for White House science adviser, and Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University has been selected to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

John and Jane are both world-renowned scientists with uncommon dedication. They have worked tirelessly to advance science, protect our Earth, and help sustain our way of life. When Jane won the Nierenberg Prize in 2003, Charles Kennel, the director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said, "Few of the world's ocean scientists have done more than Jane Lubchenco to combine the doing and the communication of good science. She is one of the world's most effective spokespersons for a new scientific strategy to preserve all the living things in our oceans."

These latest appointments-to-be are another great signal to those of us in the scientific community that the new administration is serious about including science in the decision-making process.

The appointment of John Holdren is especially interesting. John, the former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is one of the world’s leading scientists in the area of climate and energy. His appointment, as opposed to a more conventional physicist or chemist or biologist, would seem to confirm what Obama has been promising throughout the campaign – that addressing the nexus between climate change and energy will be a major priority of his administration.

One month and a day to go before the new kids take over the block ...