National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Nomination of George S. Benton To Be Associate Administrator.

The President today announced that he will nominate George S. Benton, of Baltimore, Md., to be Associate Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He would replace John Townsend, who has resigned.

Benton was born September 24, 1917, in Oak Park, Ill. He received an S.B. (1942) and Ph.D. (1947) from the University of Chicago.

From 1946 to 1948, Benton taught meteorology at the University of Chicago. From 1948 to 1960, he taught civil engineering at the Johns Hopkins University, and from 1960 to 1966, he was chairman of the Department of Mechanics and professor of meteorology at Johns Hopkins.

From 1967 to 1969, Benton was an adjoint professor in the Department of Astrogeophysics at the University of Colorado. From 1966 to 1969, he was Director of the Environmental Research Laboratories of the Environmental Science Services Administration (now NOAA) in Denver.

In 1969-70, Benton was chairman of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and professor of meteorology at Johns Hopkins. From 1970 to 1972, he was dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences there, and from 1972 until 1977, he was vice president for Homewood Divisions of Johns Hopkins. Since earlier this year, he has been Assistant Administrator of NOAA.

Benton has served as a consultant and has been on numerous academic and government panels and commissions on meteorological subjects.