This issue of Meridian focuses on the POGO program and the new Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography status awarded to BIOS through an open competition with other marine science institutions globally. The award - funded by the Nippon Foundation - adds to BIOS' long history in education and training, opening doors to developing nations that are in need of expertise in their own countries.

Thanks to the especially hard work of our Deputy and Education Director Gerry Plumley and great input by BIOS faculty, we were successful in our application for this award. Our important Time-series program funded by the NSF, a fantastic ship (the Bank of Bermuda Atlantic Explorer), and the location in such a central spot in the Sargasso Sea collectively assisted in our success.

POGO was founded about ten years ago, primarily by the actions of the then Director of Scripps, Dr. Charles Kennel (now a BIOS trustee). Key contributions also came from Howard Roe, Director of the National Institute of Oceanography (UK) and Dr. Jessie Ausobel of the Sloan Foundation. POGO was established to create a dialogue between Directors of ocean institutes around the world. With two thirds of the world's oceans in the Southern Hemisphere and most of the major ocean institutes in the Northern Hemisphere, it was clear that in order to get a complete understanding of the global ocean - and the impact man was having on it - there needed to be a greater global distribution of knowledge. Due in no small part to the hard work of the first Executive Director of POGO, Dr. Shubha Sathyendranath, POGO has been very effective over its brief history of ten years.

BIOS was pleased to host the ninth meeting of the POGO group in Bermuda for the first time in January 2008, and we were honored to be chosen as the Centre of Excellence. This year we had little time to advertise and select students; nonetheless, we were enormously pleased to receive excellent applications from sixty-nine students from thirty-five developing nations. Only ten places can be awarded each year; students choosen for this program will spend ten months at BIOS, on land and at sea, learning about all aspects of marine and environmental science. The students will be in residence from August 1st to the end of May. Specific modules are being taught by instructors from all over the world as well as by BIOS faculty. We hope to attract more instructors in new and emerging fields, so these exceptional students (now named 'Pogonians') can get the latest technology and expertise to apply in their own countries and regions.

We also anticipate support from companies around the world where expertise is needed in-house. BIOS needs sustained sponsorship from these industries to continue to train experts in areas where these companies have business interests. We have ample outstanding applicants; we just need to supplement the Nippon Foundation grant to support more students learning about how to best protect their own natural environment. BIOS' pristine and unique environment for learning enables these students to get the most of the educational experience, and makes the institute a worthy recipient of support.

In this issue you will learn more about the recipients of the Nippon Foundation-POGO program and about the program itself. You will see the impact this program is going to have on the developing nations of the world, and BIOS is very proud to be involved.