Daniel Karlson, B.A. 1997

	Karlson

Daniel Karlson, B.A. 1997, has been named the 2003 “Junior Officer of the Year” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Association of Commissioned Officers.

Karlson serves as the operations support officer for NOAA’s Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) program and the U.S. Mission Control Center. He was honored for his outstanding work in leading NOAA’s effort to implement a new SARSAT Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) (a hand-held device carried by those venturing into remote areas) in the United States, which will help save the lives of hikers, skiers, hunters and other outdoor users in distress.

Karlson says his UB educational background in geography opened many doors, including his first job at the United States Census Bureau. The university, he adds, provided him with the “opportunities needed to build leadership qualities.” He recalls, too, working as a resident assistant in Porter Quad and serving as president of the Undergraduate Geography Student Association. Karlson resides in Annapolis, MD.