FROM THE TOS PRESIDENT

Paula Bontempi

Dear TOS Members:

Greetings everyone. It’s hard to believe we are heading into the end of the calendar year already. This is the time of year I become reflective of the TOS community and consider the impacts that we have made this year. Our accomplishments as a community truly show our shared commitments to the TOS mission in ocean research, technology, policy, and education, and our membership.

On that note, I’d like to take a moment to highlight the TOS Honors program. One of the most meaningful things that we can do for each other is to recognize and celebrate our colleagues’ accomplishments. TOS offers many opportunities to nominate your colleagues for special honors, including the TOS Fellows Program and the Mary Sears Medal. You can find more information on the awards, honors, and past honorees here. The Nomination Committee has worked with TOS to streamline the nomination process, so let’s please take this opportunity to recognize a colleague, mentor, team, or peer for their exceptional achievements and contributions to the ocean sciences. Nomination opportunities are open until November 7.

Thanks to the hard work of the TOS Council and officers, TOS has released a brief survey to find out about your institution’s processes and policies for promotion, review, tenure, and pathways for professional development. This survey provides an opportunity to respond from the candidate and the reviewer side. The goal of the survey is to identify and author a “Best Practices” document for promotion, review, and tenure for member institutions of all types, working through the best ideas and concepts, policies, and procedures, to modernize approaches. Thank you to the many who have already taken the survey and provided feedback on its construct and content. You can find the survey here, and it is open for the next two weeks.

Thank you, TOS membership, for showing me throughout the year the character, quality, and integrity of the ocean sciences communities. I am excited to see many of you at upcoming scientific meetings and conferences, and wish everyone the best as we close out 2025. Remember that feedback on TOS is always welcome.

Best wishes,
Paula

All data will be de-identified and analyzed in aggregate. Your participation is fully voluntary, and you may skip any question you do not wish to answer. This survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Membership dues enable the Society to maintain a robust Honors program, produce Oceanography  magazine, host member activities at the biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting, convene events of community interest, and support the efforts of the Council in implementing the Strategic Plan. 

Membership renewal notices were sent last week, and are due by December 31, 2025. Please contact Jenny Ramarui if you have any questions about your membership status.

Please note that the connection issue that prevented payments from being accepted for the past few days was resolved on November 3 and the system is processing payments properly now.

One of the most meaningful TOS programs is celebrating our colleagues’ accomplishments through the TOS Honors program. Please take this opportunity to recognize a colleague, mentor, team, or peer for their exceptional achievements and contributions to the ocean sciences.

It’s not too late to submit a nomination! The Honors Nomination Committee has extended the nomination deadline by one week. Nominations are now due Friday, November 7, 2025.

A webinar series designed to teach you the important tools you need to succeed in marine science that you never learn in a classroom!

We’re excited to announce that The Oceanography Society (TOS), Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention (MPOWIR), and the Society for Women in Marine Science (SWMS) are teaming up to present a compelling webinar series over the next several weeks.

These events will demystify the “hidden curriculum” in marine science—important information that is crucial for career development, but rarely taught in the classroom. 

The current series of five webinars focuses on publishing in scientific journals. Join us each Monday at 1 PM ET through December 1, 2025!

In support of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), the  American Geophysical Union (AGU), the  Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and  The Oceanography Society (TOS) are collaborating on a living special collection that curates and showcases the broad range of solutions-focused research and capacity-sharing efforts that meets the Ocean Decade’s vision: “the science we need for the ocean we want.”

This special collection will highlight ongoing scientific research and innovative efforts that contribute to achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda. It will offer an excellent opportunity to showcase your work and join a global community committed to sustainable ocean stewardship.

AGU, ASLO, and TOS are soliciting papers that highlight and expand on the Ocean Decade’s 10 Challenges. The papers in this collection will then serve as a community-wide resource for shared understanding and informing policy decisions.

We look forward to welcoming you to Ocean Optics XXVII for a week of insight, collaboration, and connection. This event brings together a diverse ocean optics community, including oceanographers, limnologists, optical engineers, Earth observation scientists, resource managers, and policy professionals from across the globe, all united by a shared passion for optics in aquatic environments.

Grantly Galland
Project Director, International Fisheries,
The Pew Charitable Trusts