2023 News & Events

CSL's Ann Thorne receives a NOAA Silver Sherman Award. This award was initiated during Dr. Kathy Sullivan's tenure as NOAA Administrator, to recognize individuals who excel in their work, achieve a milestone that contributes significantly or critically towards a particular program's goal, or demonstrate leadership toward process improvement of a significant magnitude. Dr. Sullivan was particularly invested in reaching down into the organization to recognize those who made extraordinary efforts to keep the mission moving forward.

Ann is recognized "for going above and beyond her core duties at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory by taking on extra responsibilities related to students, education and outreach, especially mentoring of interns and organizing the summer intern program, and related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility issues for CSL, ESRL, and OAR. She has volunteered many times to help other laboratories, for example to cover absences in human resources staff, because her goal over three decades of service has been to make all the ESRL laboratories successful."

Ann was recognized by CSL Senior Scientist Karen Rosenlof, and virtually receives her NOAA Silver Sherman award certificate at the lab gathering via Google Meet on 27 September 2023. The pin that accompanies this award "... is dubbed the 'Silver Sherman' because it features Sherman the Shark from Jim Toomey's popular daily comic Sherman's Lagoon. Artist and conservationist Jim Toomey has long been a friend of NOAA. Besides sharing the exploits of the comic strip's namesake shark and his underwater friends, Mr. Toomey uses the cartoon to educate his readers about the environment."