This is the fifth in a 12-part monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s profile is on Disaster Response Center (DRC) Exercise and Communication Coordinator Katie Krushinski.

Are you prepared for a disaster in your home or community? Of course you are, right? You have batteries in your flashlight. You have property insurance. You've identified your best evacuation route. You keep a list of emergency phone numbers handy ... That's all great! But are the batteries fresh? Is your insurance coverage adequate? Have better evacuation routes been created? Have those phone numbers changed?

This blog covers information that will be presented by NOAA Office of Response and Restoration Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto at the AAAS Conference this week. To check out other presentation topics, visit the AAAS Conference website.

On Jan. 15, Mobile Baykeeper hosted a cleanup at One Mile Creek in Mobile, Alabama targeting debris originating from Mardi Gras celebrations and nearby communities. Caitlin Wessel, Gulf of Mexico regional coordinator for OR&R's Marine Debris Program attended, lending a hand (and a paddle) to the cleanup!

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries, and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment.

With more than 20 incident responses last month, OR&R started the new year off on a busy note.

On a drizzly November day, I met Simeon Hahn at Phoenix Park in Camden, New Jersey to talk about his work. As a Philadelphia native, I wanted to learn more about the work NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration does in the area. It was also an opportunity for me to get to know Simeon, an environmental scientist and regional resource coordinator with OR&R.

Simeon grew up in the natural beauty of the Shenandoah Valley in Waynesboro, Virginia. His parents came from the Black Forest area in Germany, and later bought a cabin and land adjacent to the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.

Almost eight years have passed since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Following the spill, scientists embarked on an unprecedented effort to better understand the fragile ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico that provide livelihood for so many in the nearby coastal communities.

Has the Gulf of Mexico recovered following the 2010 oil spill? Has new science made it more resilient to future disasters? Are we now more prepared to respond to the next spill? Experts will explore these questions and more at the upcoming 2018 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science (GoMOSES) Conference.

Another year has come and gone, and we’re starting the new year off right with a list of resolutions to make this one as great (if not better) than the last.

With a record number of incident responses and ongoing pollution response to an above-average hurricane season, 2017 was a busy year. We accomplished quite a bit last year, and while we always hope the new year will bring fewer oil spills and disasters than the year before, it’s our job to be prepared for whatever 2018 throws our way.