The Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee on Thursday will consider a quartet of presidential nominees who have been selected to help shape the nation's environmental, energy and science agendas.

All four will be considered on the same panel before the Senate committee Thursday morning. The fact that no one panelist will appear on his or her own is usually a sign that the proceeding will be fairly smooth.

Frances Gulland, who has served as the director of veterinary services at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., since 1994, has been tapped to join the three-member Marine Mammal Commission.

The commission was created as part of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act to review international agreements, regulations and the condition of marine mammal stocks. The panel makes recommendations on how the government can conserve species under the Endangered Species Act and reviews permits sought by research groups and others whose actions might harm or harass marine mammals.

It was the commission that, earlier this year, recommended that the Pacific walrus be listed as threatened or endangered due to the shrinking of ice cover that the animals use for foraging and birthing.

Also up for confirmation is Kathryn Sullivan, who President Obama has nominated to be assistant secretary of Commerce at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sullivan is a former astronaut who holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space. She was one of the first six women selected to join NASA in 1978 and spent 15 years with the agency. More recently she served as president and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, which is one of the nation's leading science museums. Before her stint at COSI, Sullivan served as a chief scientist overseeing research and technology programs for NOAA.

Philip Coyle, who has been working as an associate director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) since his recess appointment last July, is looking to be officially confirmed by the Senate. Coyle has been working on security and international affairs issues for OSTP. In 2005 and 2006 he was nominated by the Democratic leaders and appointed by then-President George W. Bush to serve on the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

The final nominee will be the one who is most familiar to committee members and is not likely to get much pushback from the GOP members of the committee.

Ann Begeman currently serves as Republican staff director for the panel. She was nominated by Obama in December to serve as a member of the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB), which has regulatory authority over freight railroads.

According to the legislation that created STB, no more than two of the three STB board members may be from the same party. As such, when a vacancy occurs in the minority member spot, the president usually nominates someone recommended by that party's Senate leader.

The other two members of the STB are both Democrats.

Schedule: The hearing is Thursday, March 10, at 10 a.m. in Russell 253.

Witnesses: Ann Begeman, Frances Gulland, Kathryn Sullivan and Philip Coyle.