NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco hailed the science partnerships between her agency and the University of Michigan as an important tool in addressing the nation's environmental challenges.

"NOAA is very pleased to be partners with the University," said Dr. Lubchenco during a campus reception in her honor this week. "Those partnerships are so important to all of us. They are especially important now because the challenges are immense. Meeting those challenges will require us to do new things in different ways. And partnerships are key to this innovation." She met with many U-M officials during her visit, including Provost Phil Hanlon (pictured above with Dr. Lubchenco.

Dr. Lubchenco is Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and as such is also administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She has been in the position since March 2009.

Through its divisions and partnerships between divisions, NOAA funds many U-M research programs related to oceans and the atmosphere, including Michigan Sea Grant and the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research. Both are affiliated with the School of Natural Resources and Environment.

"Good science, good ideas, good initiatives and good partnerships go hand in hand," she said.

The reception Tuesday occurred during her two-day visit to Ann Arbor. She was in town to attend the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting. The SAB meets throughout the year and chose Ann Arbor as the location for its summer meeting. Because of the location, Dr. Lubchenco was able to meet with U-M academic leaders involved in NOAA partnerships as well as to visit the new Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory on South State Street.