When the ocean science team from Dexter, Michigan learned their prize for taking 4th place in the 2008 National Ocean Sciences Bowl would be a four-day tour of their home state, the irony was not lost on them. However, it was quickly overshadowed by their excitement at having placed so highly in this prestigious national science competition.

Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel A Journey to the Centre of the Earth has stood the test of time as imagination-capturing entertainment. Originally penned in 1864, it has been adapted into films, television and animation, thrill rides, video games and even a music album. In July 2008, the story again hits the big screen in a 3-D summer blockbuster.

Sixteen middle, high school and community college teachers from across the country visited College Station, TX, to take part in the annual School of Rock workshop at the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s (IODP) Gulf Coast Repository.

Our recent communications have been rich with news of change within the U.S. Implementing Organization and across the IODP. I wanted to take a moment to put these changes into perspective and to bring you up to date on where we are on a number of fronts.

The Consortium for Ocean Leadership is pleased to announce that Dr. Shirley Pomponi has been elected as Chair of the Board of Trustees. Outgoing Chair, Dr. Eric Barron, is leaving the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas to head the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

On June 5th, the NOPP Excellence in Partnering Award was presented by Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to Dr. Eric Chassignet, lead principal investigator for the U.S. GODAE: Global Ocean Prediction with the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), and 24 partner institutions and organizations.