The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), pronounced /ˈno(ʊ).ə/, like "Noah," is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. NOAA warns of dangerous weather, charts seas and skies, guides the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources, and conducts research to improve understanding and stewardship of the environment. In addition to its civilian employees, NOAA research and operations are supported by 300 uniformed service members who make up the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. The current Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at the Department of Commerce, and the agency's Administrator, is Dr. Jane Lubchenco, nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate on March 19, 2009.

NOAA's strategic vision is "an informed society that uses a comprehensive understanding of the role of the oceans, coasts, and atmosphere in the global ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions."

Reuben Lasker (December 1, 1929–March 12, 1988) was a fisheries scientist known for his contributions to larval ecology, particularly the Stable Ocean Hypothesis.

Lasker was born to Theodore and Mary Lasker in Brooklyn, New York, on December 1, 1929. He attended the Boys' High School in Brooklyn, graduating at the age of 16. Lasker began his academic career at the University of Miami in 1946. Initially, he majored in English, but transitioned to zoology with notions of medical school. However, he graduated in 1950, and applied for (and won) a scholarship for graduate studies in marine biology. He studied marine shipworms and earned his master's degree at the University of Miami in 1952. For his doctoral degree at Stanford Lasker studied silverfish gastrology, earning the degree in 1956.

Lasker was married to Caroline Hayman with whom he had a daughter, Pamela, and son, Paul.

In 1956, Lasker was awarded a post-doctoral appointment from the Rockefeller Foundation to culture euphausiid shrimps at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. After teaching briefly at Compton Community College and being granted a Lalor Faculty Fellowship at Scripps, Lasker was recruited to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Commercial Fisheries' new research laboratory on the Scripps campus; he began federal service as a fishery research biologist in June 1958. Lasker was charged with establishing what would become the Physiology Laboratory.