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