The US President Barack Obama's two top science selections John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco were officially approved by the US Senate on Thursday. The Senate approved the name of John Holdren for the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and Dr. Jane Lubchenco for the administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

John Holdren is the professor of Environmental Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His areas of expertise include arms control, energy, global warming, climate change, and nuclear weapons.

On 20 December 2008, John Holdren was named as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), by President-elect Barack Obama.

In December, Obama said, "A physicist renowned for his work on climate and energy, [Holdren's] received numerous honors and awards for his contributions and has been one of the most passionate and persistent voices of our time about the growing threat of climate change."

Dr. Jane Lubchenco is an environmental scientist and marine ecologist. She is the Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Oregon State University Distinguished Professor of Zoology. She is the former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.