Dr. Richard Crout is a Supervisory Oceanographer and Head of the Ocean Sensing and Processes Branch within the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Ocean Sciences Division at Stennis Space Center. Current research interests include Satellite Oceanography, Optics, Fronts and Eddies, and Automated Vehicles. Prior to his tenure at NRL, Dr. Crout was an Oceanographer at NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and was responsible for the quality control of meteorology and oceanography data from NDBC, Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO), and Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) buoys. He was a Project Manager for the IOOS Quality Assurance of Real-Time Ocean Data (QARTOD) project seeking to standardize and codify quality control algorithms for real-time data at IOOS receipt sites. He also represented the US as a national representative on the Data Buoy Coordination Panel (DBCP) and various JCOMM committees. He volunteered for the Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU) at the United Area Command in New Orleans following the Deepwater Horizon incident and tracked deep water oil using fluorescence and dissolved oxygen measurements from a fleet of vessels in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Prior to his federal service, Dr. Crout conducted research into GEOSAT altimetry and sea surface temperature for NRL and provided Gulf Stream charts for model assimilation. He also supported Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command’s Space Oceanography Program on an Intergovernmental Personnel Action from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). He developed and taught classes in “Data Assimilation” and “Remote Sensing for Hydrographers” at USM.
Volunteer efforts include currently serving as Marine Technology Society (MTS) Vice President for Sections. He has served as a MTS Liaison for the Hampton Roads 2012, Newfoundland 2014, and Charleston 2018. He was the Student Program Chair at OCEANS 2002 Biloxi, Technical Program Co-Chair for OCEANS 2009 Biloxi, and Finance Chair for OCEANS 2020 Singapore-Gulf Coast and is currently the Finance Chair for OCEANS 2023 Gulf Coast. He recently concluded a three year term as Councilor at Large for The Oceanography Society (TOS). He served as TOS Vice-Chair for the Ocean Sciences Meetings (OSM) in New Orleans 2016 and Hawaii 2022 (virtual) and Co-Chair for OSM Portland 2018 and the upcoming OSM New Orleans 2024.