Oceanographers

The many specialties in the field of oceanography are amply reflected in the number of organizations that include oceanographers among their members. The Acoustical Society of America has 7,500 members who include specialists in subjects like psychology, architecture, speech, noise and noise control, and music. The mission of the American Geophysical Union, according to its Web site, is “to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity.” Its research includes “studies of the structure and chemical composition of the Earth’s deep interior” and “understanding…the causes of climate change.” The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) includes, among the possible career goals of its members, understanding “how living systems work” and “preserving the natural world for future generations.” The AIBS encourages students to join the organization at special student rates in order to keep up to date in developments in biology and to meet likeminded students. The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography focuses on rivers, lakes and streams as well as oceans. The IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society is one of 45 technical societies under the Technical Activities Board of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The Marine Technology Society (MTS) reports that most of its job inquiries comes from engineers, engineering designers, engineering managers and marketers, administrators, and educators. The MTS offers its members special sections for students and networking opportunities. The Oceanography Society, according to its Web site, was founded “to disseminate knowledge of oceanography and its application through research and education, to promote communication among oceanographers, and to provide a constituency for consensus-building across all disciplines in the field.” The scope of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) includes physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and climate of the earth. Its Web site states that SIO sponsors hundreds of research programs "on every continent and in every ocean."