Following the opening ceremony Oceanographer of the Navy, Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet presented the 2016 Naval Oceanography Awards.

The Oceanographer of the Year awards recognize Naval Oceanography professionals for their expertise, accomplishments, and leadership in the application of meteorology, oceanography, hydrography and precise time and astrometry.

The awardees are:
The Capt. Richard C. Steere Award:
LT Kelly Brugler, Naval Oceanography Antisubmarine Warfare Detachment, Jacksonville

The Commander Mary Seas Award:
LCDR Heather Quilenderino, Carrier Strike Group TEN

Chief Aerographers Mate John R. Dungan Award:
SCPO Matthew Euler, PCU GERALD R. FORD (CVN 78)

Matthew Henson Award:
Dr. Rachel Dudik, United States Naval Observatory

Naval Oceanography was founded in 1830, located inside a two-room house on 17th and G Streets in Northwest Washington. The depot served as the first master time reference for the Navy and as a storage facility for navigation charts and equipment. It also worked on precise time and celestial mapping and sponsored the first Naval activities in hydrographic survey, oceanography, marine meteorology and climatology and geospatial information science. That depot later became known as the U.S. Naval Observatory, as it still known today.

Naval Oceanography encompasses a wide range of missions crucial to supporting today's Naval fleet. They include oceanography, hydrography, meteorology, climate science, geospatial information science, astrometry, Earth orientation and precise time.



For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

To learn more about the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy visit http://www.Facebook.com/OfficeofTheOceanographerOfTheNavy

To learn more about the Navy's Meteorology and Oceanography Command visit http://www.Facebook.com/NavalOceanography