Introduction

Dear Colleague:

Just one year ago we distributed our first semiannual report with a goal to present to our customers a clear, accurate, and up-to-date characterization of the service elements that ODP/TAMU is responsible for providing. Based on our first two editions, the response from the community has been very favorable and we intend to continue production.

In this edition, readers will find concise summaries of our activities over the last six months; a period that has been characterized by significant achievements in operations aboard the JOIDES Resolution, fundamental changes in our organizational structure including a reduction in staff, and important progress made on a number of innovative initiatives designed to improve service delivery across the full scope of our activities.

We are very proud at ODP/TAMU of the high quality of science services we have provided to the community over more than a decade. We are confident that the changes we have recently made in our organizational structure and the way we manage projects optimally positions us to enhance our tradition of high quality science service delivery in a cost effective fashion. We look forward to working with our sponsors, the new JOIDES Advisory Structure, and the rest of the ODP community to insure that the Program is continued into the next century and that the scientific goals of the Long Range Plan are achieved.

Paul J. Fox
Director of Science Operations
Ocean Drilling Program
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas