René Garello, OES Junior Past President
The OES Administrative Committee election closes on 25 June. When you review the below candidates, I think you will agree that OES is truly becoming a major international society of IEEE, that includes participating members from students, Young Professionals to our Senior members. Be sure to cast your vote.
VOTE NOW at https://eballot4.votenet.com/IEEE
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Voting must be completed no later than 25 June 2019. Any returns received after this date will not be counted. The online voting site will close at 4:00 pm Eastern Time.
The photos, bios and statements of our excellent slate of candidates follows. You can see their information on the voting site.
JOÃO ALVES (M’09-SM’17) BSc., MSc. in Electrotechnical Engineering, Control and Robotics by the Technical University of Lisbon. He has been working in underwater robotics and associated technologies since 1995.
He had a key role in the development of the hardware and software architectures for the MARIUS AUV and DELFIM ASV developed at the Technical University of Lisbon. These were fully distributed and networked architectures including more than 30 processors in charge of the different components of the vehicles. This work was the base for his MSc. dissertation.
In 2003 he co-founded a private start-up company—Blue Edge Systems Engineering, offering services and conducting R&D activity in the maritime domain. In 2007 he took scientific leadership for the underwater communications activities of the EC project GREX where pioneering maritime cooperative robotics was demonstrated. In late 2009 he joined the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC), now Centre For Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) as a scientist to work on underwater communications. He led studies in support of establishing the first underwater communications standard and developed innovative protocols for underwater ad hoc networking. In 2014 he took a leadership role as Principal Scientist responsible for the underwater communications activities at CMRE. He conducted several trials as scientist in charge, leading teams of several tens of people during long sea-going campaigns. During this period he also served as PI for different European commission projects (like MORPH and SUNRISE) and was co-general chair for the IEEE OES UComms14, UComms16 and UComms18 conferences. He is an invited lecturer for the Masters in Ocean Engineering offered by the University of Pisa (ITA), a guest editor of the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering and a member of the editorial body of the Elsevier Journal of Ad Hoc Networks. João currently serves as a member of the IEEE OES Administrative Committee and is also the OES Liaison for OCEANS 2021 Porto. He is also involved in the AUVSI subcommittee for the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea, dealing with the challenging issues of adding robots to our Oceans.
João received the NATO Scientific Achievement Award 2018 for his work as team leader in the development and promulgation of JANUS—the first digital underwater communications standard.
Statement: We are very lucky to have an extremely strong group of people that is vested in the success of this society. I’m proud to be part of such group and would like to continue giving my contribution.
I joined the AdCom in 2018 and my first year of seeing the society “from the inside” has been extremely valuable and formative. Later in 2018, I took the role of liaison for OCEANS 2021 Porto and I’m now contemplating additional ways to contribute.
I believe my experience as co-chair of the UComms conference series can be put to service with two major objectives: On one hand improving the interaction of conference organisers with IEEE (something that I’m sure can be considerably improved) and on the other hand to increase the quality of the output of OES conferences. I’m very interested in working directly with the Vice-President for Conferences and Symposia towards continuing shaping and maturing the guidelines for society conferences with the aim of producing high quality meetings and contributions to IEEE Xplore. In these days of conference proliferation and overflow of paper production, we should aim at holding our OES conferences output to the highest possible standards.
BRANDY ARMSTRONG (M’15) was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She left home to become an oceanographer in 1999. After receiving her Masters degree in Marine Science at the University of South Carolina and a short stint working on a remote island, she spent nearly 7 years in Woods Hole working with the USGS Coastal Marine Geology program. She transferred to the USGS Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility in 2014 where she runs the Hydraulics Laboratory.
Brandy spends most of her free time with her husband Steve and daughter Aileen, but still finds time to keep an eye on the latest technology and opportunities in both oceanography and surface water, and share that information with others through the IEEE OES social media channels. She also enjoys volunteering with the Open Food Network and practicing permaculture on her 11.5 acre homestead in south Mississippi.
As a member of the IEEE OES Administrative Committee (2017–2019) and chair of the student activities committee (2018–2019), Brandy has built up OES’ social media presence and provided mentorship and career building opportunities for students and Young Professionals. She is active on the Earthzine board of directors and a strong member and supporter of the Women in Engineering affiliate group.
Brandy is an accomplished scientist with 10 years of experience in data collection and management and expertise in managing field teams and equipment. She is skilled in data analysis, data visualization, and scientific publication and preparing publicly accessible datasets. She has a strong leadership and communication acumen and promotes collaboration with key stakeholders across organizations. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandyarmstrong/
Statement: As an elected Administrative Committee member (2017–2019) I have championed the social media initiative which has received 82.5K of requested funds towards creating and maintaining a social media presence through IEEE OES member involvement and content creation. I have also recruited a team of IEEE OES student and Young Professional members to help maintain that social media presence and create content to share from Earthzine and Beacon.
As student activities committee chair (2018–2019) I have held regular meetings with student and Young Professional members that have led to increased opportunities for mentorship at OCEANS and the organization of Career and WIE panels to benefit our student, YP, women and minority members. These meetings have enabled me to share current opportunities with students and YP and involve them in planning for the creation of future opportunities that meet their needs. The effectiveness of these efforts can be seen through an increase in new and active student branch chapters and a recent increase in Young Professional membership.
If re-elected I propose to continue working with the students and YP members through social media and Earthzine and to promote other career building and mentorship opportunities. I will continue to mentor students and YP and encourage them to apply for technical and leadership positions in the IEEE OES, both locally and internationally.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS BOUSQUET (S’07-GSM’08-M’10) I was raised in Kuujjuaq, an Inuit community North of Quebec, in the Ungava Bay. There, I experienced the rigours of the tundra, and I also learned about the Inuit culture and their love for nature. As a teenager, I later spent my summers canoeing and kayaking, enjoying my passion for water sports on the St-Lawrence River in Montreal.
I completed my Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at École Polytechnique de Montréal in 2001. I then spent two years working as a software analyst in the defence industry at Oerlikon Contraves (now Rheinmetall Canada). Eager to advance my knowledge in my preferred field of communication electronics, I returned to pursue my graduate at the Schulich School of Engineering, in Calgary Alberta. During my Masters, I developed a space-time coding technique to advance the performance of Wifi in fading indoor environments. I also implemented an active scatterer to control the signature of the communication channel. This work earned me an Outstanding Analog Designer Award by Analog Devices. After, two years in industry as an Analog Integrated Circuits Designer, I returned to academia, and I currently serve as Interim Department Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Dalhousie University.
Dalhousie University is in the Atlantic Maritimes in Canada. Atlantic Canada has a strong ocean technologies industry with approximately 140 companies generating an estimated $330 million in sales annually and responsible for approximately 5300 person-years of employment. When I joined the University, I started the UW-STREAM (The Underwater Sensing and Transmission using Electro-Acoustic Modems Laboratory), an applied research facility focused mainly on the development of underwater communication systems. The UW-STREAM lab actively collaborates with local and international industry partners, including Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems, Ocean Sonics, General Dynamics Mission Systems and more recently Jasco Applied Science. The laboratory holds 3 PhD Candidates, 5 M.A.Sc. Students and one Post-Doctoral Researcher that are working towards next generation underwater communication networks.
In the Summer 2016, our research group participated in an ambitious 3-day sea trial 10 km off the coast of Nova Scotia. While a 5-element receiver was deployed in the middle of the water column, in 80 meters of water, we transmitted different waveforms to demonstrate the communication reliability of several modulation schemes, and to validate the channel propagation conditions against real physical conditions. The sea trial provided us a rich dataset, and we were able to confirm the high sensitivity of the different modulation techniques to extreme channel conditions.
My research team has also developed an autonomous sailboat that has participated in the MicroTransat Challenge to cross the Atlantic. In the Summer 2016, the SeaLeon, a 1.8-meter vessel left Scatarie Island, in Cape Breton, and travelled over 3000 km in 76 days, before we lost communication to her. Just recently, she was found on the shores of Ireland, and we are in the process of recovering her to North America to diagnose its status.
Ocean technology has become my passion in the past four years, and I continuously share my interest with my graduate and undergraduate students. I am looking forward to working as an active member of the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society.
Oceanic Engineering Society—Opportunities and Challenges: The IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society is a unique community applied to oceans technology. As a body of the IEEE, its community consists primarily of electrical engineering scientists and professionals. However, because of the breadth of the challenges, it also attracts other engineering disciplines, as well as oceanographers, physicists and mathematicians. This unique characteristic provides both opportunities and challenges to promote the objectives of the society through networking, conferences and publications, and towards the education of students and support of young professional members.
The mandate of the society includes: 1) the sponsorship of different international events, 2) the planning of the conference, 3) the definition of standards, 4) the management of professional activities through 30 international Chapters, 5) the recognition of excellence in the student body through scholarships, and 6) the publication of a peer-reviewed journal as well as magazines, and newsletters. In order to achieve this, the Society governance is managed through an administrative body, an executive body as well as 18 technical committees. The individuals belonging to the society are primarily enrolled on a voluntary basis.
As the interest in the ocean resources grows, there is an increasing need for ocean technology, and particularly to deploy infrastructure along the littoral, in the Arctic or even in the deep sea. The applications are vast and include oil & gas, military, environmental, and scientific sectors of activity. As such, there is an opportunity to train future engineers and scientists in this field. The role of the OES is to attract students in this exciting field of expertise. There is a potential to increase the size of this community and ensure that knowledge gets transferred to the next generations. Fostering a large community that can support the economy is an essential need for the long-term growth of the industry. For this purpose, the society must keep at the forefront of its activities, the promotion of its field to attract strong researchers in the area.
The ocean is considered by many as one of the last frontiers, since its realms remain vastly unexplored and difficult to monitor. Advancing the ocean technology poses many challenges, and this must be done in collaboration between universities and industry. Enhancing partnerships should be an important mandate of the OES, such that the University research is relevant, and that it can meet current industry demands. For example, the cost of subsea sensors and autonomous underwater vehicles that can sustain harsh subsea conditions remains extremely high, and a thorough review of the systems needs to be considered to enable large scale monitoring of our oceans.
In the 21st century’s reality, climate has become a global concern and all nations are putting in resources to reduce pollution and sustain the Earth’s health. The OES can play a major role in supporting this international effort, since the oceans are directly impacted by the climate. At Dalhousie University, monitoring climate changes has become the mandate of the Ocean Frontier Institute, a government funded program that received over $94M to advance the technology and science in this field. Through this initiative, the advancement of underwater sensor networks encourages standardization, and interoperability between the sensors. Also, scientists are developing standards and processes to protect marine life. Such standards should also be promoted at the OES. Finally, since the challenges related to oceans are international, the OES must ensure that it reaches out to a diverse community from all parts of the world, by fostering international networking events that encourage collaboration between different entities.
JAMES V. CANDY (S’73-M’76-SM’94-F’99-LF’17) is the Chief Scientist for Engineering, a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff and founder/former Director of the Center for Advanced Signal & Image Sciences (CASIS) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Candy received a commission in the USAF in 1967 and was a Systems Engineer/Test Director from 1967 to 1971 (Captain/Vietnam Era Veteran). He has been a Researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 1976 holding various positions including that of Project Engineer for Signal Processing and Thrust/Focus Area Leader for Signal and Control Engineering. Educationally, he received his B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Cincinnati and his M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida. He is a registered professional Control System Engineer in the state of California. He has been an Adjunct Professor at San Francisco State University, University of Santa Clara, and UC Berkeley, Extension teaching graduate courses in signal and image processing. He is an Adjunct Full-Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Candy is a Fellow of the IEEE “for contributions to model-based ocean acoustic signal processing” and a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) “for contributions to model-based acoustic signal processing.” He was elected as a Life Member (Fellow) at the University of Cambridge (Clare Hall College). He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Phi Kappa Phi honorary societies. He was elected as a Distinguished Alumnus by the University of Cincinnati “for meritorious achievement, recognized stature and conspicuous success in the imaginative blending of engineering education with highly productive endeavors in industry, professional activities, and public service.” Dr. Candy received the IEEE Distinguished Technical Achievement Award for the “development of model-based signal processing in ocean acoustics.” Dr. Candy is an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for oceanic signal processing. He was nominated for the prestigious Edward Teller Fellowship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Candy has been awarded the Interdisciplinary Helmholtz-Rayleigh Silver Medal in Signal Processing/Underwater Acoustics by the Acoustical Society of America “for contributions to the advancement of science, engineering, or human welfare through research accomplishments.” He has received the R&D100 award for his innovative invention in radiation threat detection. He has published over 225 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports as well as written six texts in signal processing, “Signal Processing: the Model-Based Approach,” (McGraw-Hill, 1986) and “Signal Processing: the Modern Approach,” (McGraw-Hill, 1988), “Model-Based Signal Processing,” (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2006), “Bayesian Signal Processing: Classical, Modern and Particle Filtering” (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2009/2016) and currently “Model-Based Processing: An Applied Subspace Identification Approach,” (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2019). He was the General Chairman of the inaugural 2006 IEEE Nonlinear Statistical Signal Processing Workshop held at the Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge. He has presented a variety of short courses and tutorials sponsored by the IEEE and ASA in Applied Signal Processing, Spectral Estimation, Advanced Digital Signal Processing, Applied Model-Based Signal Processing, Applied Acoustical Signal Processing, Model-Based Ocean Acoustic Signal Processing and most recently Bayesian Signal Processing for IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society/ASA. He has also presented short courses in Applied Model-Based Signal Processing for the SPIE Optical Society. He was the IEEE Co-Chair of the Technical Committee on “Signal/Image Processing and Statistical Learning” and was the Chair of the ASA Technical Committee on “Signal Processing in Acoustics” as well as being an Associate Editor for Signal Processing of ASA (on-line JASAEL). He was elected to the Administrative Committee of IEEE OES. His research interests include Bayesian learning, estimation, identification, spatial estimation, signal and image processing, array signal processing, nonlinear signal processing, tomography, sonar/radar processing and biomedical applications.
Statement: If elected to the Administrative Committee of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society for the Class of 2020, I would continue to focus my attention on the technical aspects of the society and motivate more technical participation especially from those colleagues in signal processing related areas (ocean acoustics, imaging, tracking, communications, etc.). The heart of any technical society is its members and their technical efforts that lead to high interest both inside and outside OES (e.g. papers, conferences, workshops, books, etc.). I would continue my efforts consulting on tutorials, participation and education, since this is typically an area that our members seek to gain technical knowledge and direction especially when entering a new technical area. I am currently an IEEE OES Distinguished Lecturer and recently was the OES Tutorials Chair/Liaison participating in the organization of the OCEANS tutorials and awarding of CEU certificates. Also as a participant in the Signal/Image Processing and Statistical Learning Technical Committee I encourage our members participation in recommending potential tutorial/short course instructors that actively engage in “educating” our OES members in areas of high interest.
TIMOTHY DUDA (M’05-SM’09) Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is an ocean acoustician and physical oceanographer. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, and Member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. Dr. Duda received his BA degree in physics from Pomona College and his PhD degree in oceanography from UC San Diego (Scripps Institution of Oceanography). He has led the design, fabrication, or assembly of physical oceanographic measurement systems beginning in graduate school in 1979 (Cartesian Diver, Micro Sampling Sled, Webb Shearmeters, LocoMoor, DIMES Shearmeters). He has collected and analyzed acoustic data from multiple experiments in deep and shallow water over the last few decades, and has devised theories to explain complex underwater acoustic behavior. He is also a developer of three-dimensional (3D) underwater acoustic propagation models and an experienced user of 2D and 3D acoustic propagation models. Recently he has led a diverse multiple-PI DoD MURI program in coupled ocean dynamical and ocean acoustic modeling, and works actively on ocean acoustic effects and situations that are strongly influenced by rapidly evolving water-column events and complex bathymetry.
As OES member since 2005 and IEEE Senior Member since 2009, as Environmental Acoustics TC Chair and Underwater Acoustics TC member, and as technical program participant at numerous Oceans Conferences, and through activity in other societies, I know first-hand the value of structured and informal communications with professional peers, open dissemination of vetted or partially vetted research results, archived research and development papers, and organized meetings of scientists and engineers with common interests. My motivation for AdCom membership is to preserve the strength of OES sponsored meetings that are faced with a number of threats. Smaller and more targeted grants discourage researchers from attending and writing papers, while proprietary corporate development can be incompletely presented and documented. The ability of the Oceans Conferences to attract quality work with full technical description should be enhanced, raising their profile, their ability to attract the highest caliber of keynote speakers and exhibitors seeking a knowledgeable market, and their educational and professional value to attendees. Preserving the strength of the Journal is an additional priority.
KEN FOOTE (M’96-SM’11-F’15) is completing a term as an AdCom member. He is serving as Technology Committee chair for Underwater Acoustics and for Standards. He has earlier served two terms as OES Vice President for Technical Activities. He is a Life Member of OES and an IEEE Fellow. He received a BS in electrical engineering from The George Washington University and PhD in physics from Brown University. He worked at Raytheon Company Submarine Signal Division 1968–1974, spent a year at Loughborough University of Technology, then six years at the University of Bergen. In 1981 he became a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, and in 1999, a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His research interests include acoustic scattering by marine organisms and the physical environment, marine resource estimation, and sonar performance evaluation and calibration.
Statement: The core of any IEEE society is its technical activities. We in OES are focused on ocean engineering. Some of us make tools; others use them; but always in the most challenging environment of the ocean—to exploit its power or resources, to conserve resources, or for understanding. As a society, we sponsor major meetings, such as the semi-annual OCEANS Conference, and publish the premier journal in ocean engineering. We also promote and serve the professional interests of the membership. All this requires diverse talents. It is my conviction, based on observation, that technical activities need strong representation on AdCom, especially during this period of IEEE-compelled financial austerity, when technical activities are being viewed as “revenue sinks” and priority is being given to “revenue sources.” This is my motivation for continued service.
BHARATH KALYAN (S’04-M’07-GSM’10-M’10) graduated as Engineer in Electronics & Communication from Bangalore University, India (2001), and has a Ph.D in Control & Instrumentation Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2010). He has been working in unmanned underwater systems and associated technologies since 2002. In 2004, he was a visiting research fellow with Ura Laboratory, IIS, University of Tokyo. He was a research engineer for 3 years at Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Nanyang Technological University where he worked on various underwater projects, primarily focusing on underwater sensing, navigation for surface & underwater vehicles. In 2010, he joined Acoustic Research Laboratory (ARL), National University of Singapore where he is now a Senior Research Fellow. In ARL, he managed the autonomous underwater vehicle program, STARFISH and networked autonomous underwater assets program, NETGEAR. As a Co-PI, he is also leading the deepsea nodule harvesting program under the auspices of Keppel-NUS corporate laboratory, along with Ocean Minerals Singapore to explore polymetallic nodules using autonomous systems in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. He also holds a joint position as a senior research scientist at Marine & Offshore Program Office (MOPO), A*Star, tasked with co-developing a national level offshore marine robotics program.
Bharath has been a member of IEEE OES for over a decade. He is also a member of International Marine Minerals Society. He has served IEEE OES Singapore Chapter as an executive member and is now the Vice-Chair. He served as the Academic Chair and Technical Chair for the Asia’s first international student AUV competition, Singapore AUV Challenge (SAUVC 2013). Since then, he has contributed in various capacities in the LOC, including being the General Chair for SAUVC 2018. He is a member of the LOC for OCEANS 2020 in Singapore, as Exhibition Chair. He is also a member of the technical committee, Autonomous Marine Systems, an IEEE OES initiative. He serves as reviewer for IEEE OCEANS, JOE, TRO, IJRR, IROS & ICARCV.
Statement: Having seen IEEE OES as a student member, then a member and now as a Vice-Chair of the Singapore chapter, I’m convinced that IEEE OES is strategically positioned to bridge the gap between policy makers, academia and industry. However, as with all professional volunteering organizations, the biggest challenge is to encourage young professionals to get more involved in the society. For this IEEE OES must strive towards remaining relevant and provide opportunities that excite young professionals as they are vital to its recruitment.
I welcome the opportunity to bring my experience to the IEEE OES AdCom, and if elected my priorities would be as follows:
To work towards building an integrated marine robotics database with increased focus on integrating observing systems, support of standards, calibration practices to improve interoperability. This could then be used by researchers to benchmark their data, developed algorithms & software, similar to AI Tribune (formerly popular as CVOnline that has over 50,000 registered users).
To raise the awareness of OES as a professional society and its activities through expanded outreach program (workshops, seminars, competitions) and through various social media platforms.
Engage students, young professionals and support the development of marine technology communities around the world.
DEBBI KILL (AF’07-AM’15-M’17) is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 40+ years financial management experience. Her strengths in the areas of financial management, analysis, planning and reporting are combined with a solid background in computerized information systems and general accounting management. Her oceans engineering industry experience began in 2001 when she accepted the position of Controller at International Submarine Engineering Ltd. As Controller, Debbi provided financial leadership in the design and build of unmanned submersible technologies.
Debbi has now turned her sights to the MATE ROV competition as Treasurer on the inaugural board of MATE Inspiration for Innovation (MATE II); a newly formed non-profit spun off from Monterey Peninsula College’s MATE Centre. She has also served for the last five years as the Official Scorekeeper at the Regional MATE ROV competition event in Seattle and the International competition held in various locations throughout North America.
She is a member in good standing of IEEE OES, the Marine Technology Society and the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and holds a business certificate in Computer Systems Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
She is a long time resident of the West Coast of British Columbia.
Service to the Oceanic Engineering Community to Date:
Chief Financial Officer, MATE Inspiration for Innovation
Official Scorekeeper, MATE International ROV Competition
Official Scorekeeper, MATE Pacific Northwest Regional Competition
Member, Local Organizing Committee, OCEANS 2019 Seattle, WA
Treasurer and VP Budget and Finance, Marine Technology Society (MTS)
Financial Liaison, Joint OCEANS Administrative Board
MTS Liaison, OCEANS 2016 Monterey CA
Finance Chair, OCEANS 2015 Washington DC
Finance Chair, OCEANS 2007 Vancouver BC
Statement: OES has a long history of successful engagement in the oceanic engineering community. It has done so through the delivery of quality conferences, workshops and publications that provide society members with opportunities to network with like-minded professionals.
If elected, I would welcome the opportunity to bring my unique skill set in finance, business management and strategic planning to assist OES AdCom in building on that success. My past experience serving on various boards and organizing committees for OCEANS conferences has been very rewarding. I am excited at the prospect of using that experience to contribute to the financial and technical success of future conferences, workshops and symposiums.
I would also work hard to connect the next generation of OES members and volunteers by promoting the society to the large number of professionals and students involved in the MATE ROV competition.
With your support, I will serve tirelessly in helping OES achieve its mission of fostering technical and professional growth of its members wherever possible.
SHYAM MADHUSUDHANA (GSM’08-M’09-GSM’12-M’16) I obtained my Bachelors degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, India, my Masters degree in Computer Science from San Diego State University—California State University, and my PhD in Applied Physics from Curtin University, Australia. My Masters research was carried out in collaboration with researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. My doctoral research involved development of solutions for the automation of underwater soundscape assessments. Over the past years, I have worked at the Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST), Australia, and at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), India. At present, I am with the Bioacoustics Research Program at Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell University). My research interests have been largely multidisciplinary, with applications in autonomous monitoring and conservation of marine fauna. My current research involves developing solutions for automatic source separation in continuous ambient audio streams and the development of deep-learning techniques for unsupervised multi-class classification of acoustic events in the big-data realm, with focus on efficient utilization of modern computing capabilities.
My tryst with IEEE OES began in 2008, when I had attended the then OCEANS conference in Kobe, Japan as a participant in the Student Poster Competition. I have since been involved at various levels in the society as an active and contributing member. In 2009/2010, along with Kevin Delaney and James Collins, I had worked towards and succeeded in resurrecting the San Diego Chapter of OES. I served as the Chapter’s Secretary and Treasurer for two years. I was a member of the local organizing committee for OCEANS’13 at San Diego. I am among the founding members of the Australian Chapter of OES which came into existence in 2013. I also served as the Secretary of the new Chapter for three years. During my residence in Perth, Australia, I had liaised with the Director of the Centre for Marine Science & Technology (Curtin University) for co-branding of some of their weekly seminars as IEEE-OES events, thereby providing OES some much needed exposure in Western Australia which was otherwise dominated by the Society of Underwater Technology. In 2018, I was appointed as the Coordinator of Technology Committees. With inputs from the Chairs of the various Committees, Malcolm Heron (VPTA) and I have been revising the committees’ scopes and statements to maintain their relevance in the evolving industry. Since my appointment, I have chaired two meetings of the Technology Committees. Also, in 2018, I was awarded membership to the inaugural OES YP-BOOST program. As part of the initiative, I have participated in two AdCom meetings so far and have a very good understanding of the processes and the purposes. Most recently, I was nominated to serve as the OES Chair of Student Poster Competitions at OCEANS conferences.
Statement: Over the past decade, having volunteered at various levels of IEEE OES and having contributed to its various facets, I have developed a well-rounded understanding of the scope, purpose and the evolving needs of the Society. I welcome the opportunity to put this knowledge to use for further development of the Society and to keep up its relevance in the rapidly evolving field of oceanic engineering research. Election to the AdCom would enable me to stay more engaged with the Society and would make my efforts most successful.
One of my primary goals is to expand the technology base of OES and plug prevalent gaps by bringing in more of the emerging technologies under the ambit of its various Technology Committees. For example, marine bioacoustics, underwater soundscape studies and marine pollution are well-matured interdisciplinary fields of research globally and yet they continue to have relatively small footprints within OES. The fact that the futures of the IEEE and its Societies depend on membership growth is well known. Keeping OES’s technology base regularly updated ensures that the Society remains attractive to newer generations of professionals coming from emerging fields of research. Furthermore, the active engagement of students and young professionals is vital for strengthening their loyalty, both to the profession and to the Society. I will support initiatives for encouraging their increased participation and for expanding their roles in the Society. Student Poster Competition (SPC), which is a flagship event of the bi-annual OCEANS conferences, offers a rewarding experience to the participants. Given that my association with OES had started from participation in an SPC more than a decade ago, it still remains close to my heart. I will continue to support and further develop the program.
ANDREAS MAROUCHES (M’10) is a Principal Research Engineer and Research Group Leader in the Engineering and Technology Program in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) business unit. He provides engineering and technical support to scientists and industry working the marine and atmospheric domains. In addition to providing technical guidance in the deployment of projects, Andreas and his group specialise in the design of bespoke science systems and platforms. This includes the design and manufacture of ship=based systems and instrumentation, autonomous platforms, and oceanographic moorings. In addition, Andreas is involved the development of new leading edge engineering technologies and methods to meet present and future engineering challenges. The Engineering and Technology program has a strong track record for delivering technical solutions to address challenging science problems in the field. Andreas also leads several ongoing international collaborative efforts on technology development with partner agencies including JAMSTEC and NOAA, as well as academic partners such as MIT. These projects are specifically targeted towards addressing fundamental technical and operational challenges in the advancement of ocean observing science platforms. The fields of study include ocean science and monitoring, mooring development, advanced materials, system autonomy, and environmental technology to support aquaculture science and industry.
Andreas’ technical background includes a broad range of engineering fields including aerospace, aero- structures, technologies for the environment, audio-visual engineering, optics, ocean engineering, autonomous systems, and engineering systems modelling and simulation. Andreas has worked with a wide range of research and industry institutions including the University of Toronto, Boeing Aerospace, IMAX and CSIRO.
Andreas is active in both the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society and the Marine Technology Society. Andreas is the Tasmanian sub-section chair in the Australian Chapter of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, and actively engages the extensive marine technology community in Tasmania with talks and supporting visits from field experts. Andreas is also the Chair of the OES Polar Oceans Technical committee and most recently planned and executed the first Antarctic and Southern Ocean Forum for Science and Technology (ASOF-Fest) conference in August 2018 to bring together researchers across both science and technology domains to discuss emerging challenges in conducting southern-ocean research. Andreas is also contributing to the planning of the sister conference the Arctic and Northern Ocean Forum scheduled for September 2019. Over his ten years working in the marine industry Andreas has also regularly attended and presented papers at Oceans conferences (over 16 in 10 years).
Statement: In the next five years we are poised to see significant change in the method and technologies being deployed in our oceans. The operational challenges of localisation, persistence and scale faced by the marine sector will become more acute as operations of all sorts venture into more remote regions, deeper waters and further from on-shore support. Autonomy is the future of ocean operations. Advanced unmanned platforms working both at the surface of the oceans and below, combined with advances in AI and sensor technology will change the way ocean operations are conducted in support of both research and commercial activities. These technology drivers will demand new engineering skills, legal and regularity frameworks, business models and new standards to succeed. The next generation of marine and ocean engineers will need to embrace a new set of skills to succeed.
The Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) has the opportunity to play a central role in helping enable and lead this change but not without challenge. Engineering activities in the sector will become increasingly multi-disciplinary and requiring a more diverse set of skills. Interactions between disciplines are also likely to become more nuanced and require the creation of new sub-disciplines in engineering curricula. As always the primary opportunity for OES is to help engage with students and emerging engineers in the field helping to provide a framework (and subsequently a home) for new members who may increasingly find their new skills at odds with traditional marine engineering curricula. Continued investment in student engagement though workshop and conferences is critical in this regard.
As part of the IEEE, OES in in the unique opportunity to provide guidance on setting of standards, and contribute to the development of best practice and subsequent discussions informing regulatory frameworks. This is particularly necessary in the context of autonomous or unmanned systems. Outside of the engineering discipline, OES has an opportunity to engage with the broader science community to create strong working groups around key science theme areas to help break free the constraints of siloed expertise in particular domain areas, and encourage interaction and idea sharing across specialised areas. An example of this is the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Forum which mixed in science presentations with engineering discussions around the challenges faced by conducting science operations in the Southern Ocean. Is it envisioned that along with it’s sister conference (the Arctic and Northern Ocean Forum) that bridges could be formed by specialist groups working at opposite poles to address often similar technical challenges.
NIKOLA MIŠKOVIĆ (S’05-M’08-SM’17) obtained his PhD in 2010 from University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing where he is an Associate Professor and the Head of the Centre for Research Support. He has been elected Vice Dean for Research for academic years 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. Prof. Mišković teaches Control Theory, Nonlinear Control Systems, and an elective course Guidance and Control of Marine Vehicles. He is also the co-founder of two spinoff companies: MARS—Marine Robotics and Systems, and H2O robotics.
His research activities are conducted within the Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST, https://labust.fer.hr/). He participated in 14 European projects (H2020, FP7, DG-ECHO, INTERREG) out of which he coordinated FP7 CADDY, focussing on the development of the first underwater robot for interaction with divers; H2020 aPad, devoted to commercialization of an autonomous surface vehicles developed in LABUST, and H2020 EXCELLABUST devoted to increasing LABUST excellence in marine robotics. He also participated in 4 Office of Naval Research Global (ONR-G) projects (coordinated 3), 2 NATO projects, and 7 national projects (coordinated 3). He published more than 70 papers in journals and conference proceedings in the area of navigation, guidance and control, as well as cooperative control in marine robotics.
Assoc. Prof. Mišković is a Senior Member of IEEE – he has been a member of IEEE for 15 years, and a member of IEEE OES for 14 years. During this time, he significantly contributed to IEEE by acting as a president of Chapter for Robotics and Automation of the Croatian Section from 2016 to 2019. He is the Branch Counselor of a newly founded IEEE OES Student Branch Chapter University of Zagreb. Prof. Mišković also participated in a number of IEEE OES OCEANS conferences where he also organized a special session devoted to dissemination of FP7 CADDY project research results. He published in IEEE journals such as IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine and IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.
He is involved as a judge in student autonomous marine vehicle competitions such as Student Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Challenge—Europe (SAUC-e), European Robotics League (ERL), Singapore AUV Challenge, and RobotX.
He is one of the founders and the Chairman of the Programme Committee of “Breaking the Surface”, an international interdisciplinary field workshop of maritime robotics and applications that has been organized for 11 years in a row.
In 2013 he received the young scientist award “Vera Johanides” of the Croatian Academy of Engineering (HATZ) for scientific achievements, and he received the annual State science award for 2015, awarded by the Croatian Parliament.
Statement: I have been a member of IEEE for 15 years now, and a member of OES for 14 years (Senior Member since 2017). My goal is to continue my engagement with OES activities as a Member of the Administrative Committee.
I am one of the founders and the Chairman of the Programme Committee of “Breaking the Surface” (BtS, http://bts.fer.hr/, https://www.facebook.com/BtSCroatia) that has been organized for 11 years in a row in Croatia. BtS is the only interdisciplinary field workshop of marine robotics and applications that fuses a standard, workshop-type knowledge transfer event with several days of fieldwork in end-user disciplines such as marine robotics and marine remote sensing; maritime and nautical archaeology and history, submerged cultural landscapes; marine biology, biological oceanography and marine natural conservation; maritime security; etc. In 2018, BtS hosted around 200 participants from 18 countries, 38 lectures were delivered, and 8 vehicles were demonstrated. I will advocate strengthening links between ocean engineering and application domains, by enabling synergies between “Breaking the Surface” workshop and IEEE Oceanographic Engineering Society since I believe it would significantly increase outreach to next professional generations and would contribute towards strengthening student experience within OES.
Over the last few years I was involved as a judge in student autonomous marine vehicle competitions such as Student Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Challenge—Europe (SAUC-e), European Robotics League (ERL), Singapore AUV Challenge, and RobotX. While these events significantly contribute to the engineering education and careers of students, what I consider is missing is the transfer of knowledge across generations of students. I will support knowledge transfer events at various student competitions, publications in IEEE OES publications; and organization of tutorials in order to boost excellence in marine robotics competitions.
JOHN R. POTTER (M’96-SM’98-F’18) is a Fellow of the IEEE and an Associate Editor of the OES Journal of Oceanic Engineering. He has a B.Sc. from Bristol and a PhD. in Glaciology and Oceanography from Cambridge for his research in the Antarctic, where he spent four consecutive summers. He was awarded the Polar Medal for this work by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988.
In 2004–2005 he took a year ‘seabbatical’ with his family to circumnavigate the Indian Ocean by sailboat on a sponsored voyage of research, public outreach and secondary school education to increase awareness of the plight of the oceans from pollution and climate change. The project interacted with over 3000 school children, generated environmentally-focussed maritime articles in every edition of Asia Geographic for an entire year, and generated groundbreaking peer-reviewed publications on persistent organic pollutants in the Indian Ocean, which continue to draw citations.
Dr. Potter has three decades of experience in marine scientific research, engineering management & technology development with a holistic ‘big picture’ view and environmental focus, the last 20 years’ in senior management and leadership roles. He also has 10 years’ experience facilitating, coaching & training personal performance & leadership skills, change-management, team building, relationship management & corporate strategy and is adept at driving inclusive consensus through discussion and dialogue in management committee environments. Dr. Potter has served three terms on the IEEE OES Administrative Committee in the past 12 years, founded the Singapore OES section and was co-chair of one of the first OCEANS to be held in Asia, OCEANS Singapore 2005.
He has a proven track record of recognising and developing novel opportunities, leading award-winning projects such as the ‘JANUS’ underwater communications standard and scientific and engineering projects such as ‘ADONIS’ and ‘ROMANIS’.
Dr. Potter has broad experience in dealing with multi-national governmental, academic, military & industrial organisations from the Americas through Europe, to Asia, demonstrated by numerous multi-million grants and awards from US, European and Asian funding sources over the span of three decades. Co-founder of the Tropical Marine Science Institute and Founder of the Acoustic Research Laboratory in the National University of Singapore (ranked #15 in the world) he led these organisations from inception, through growth, to sustainable, internationally-recognised centres of excellence.
John is an International Fellow of the Explorers Club, Member MTS, Life Member of the Marine Mammal Society, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, TDI Nitrox and ECC Rebreather Diver and a Private Pilot (Gliders and Gyrocopters).
It is no longer true that he neither owns nor operates a television.
Statement: I am proud to have been an active OES volunteer for more than 20 years, founding the OES Singapore Section in 2000, co-chairing the first IEEE OES OCEANS conference and exhibition in Asia (OCEANS Singapore 2005) and serving on the organizing committee of OCEANS Genova 2015. I have published extensively in JOE and the Beacon, co-chaired five IEEE OES conferences, and have been a guest editor for six JOE Special Issues. I have also served three terms on the OES AdCom so far, dating back to 2007, and look forward to serving a fourth, should the membership see fit to re-elect me.
I believe we live, as Asians often say (with a sense of a double-edged sword) in interesting times. The traditional value of a society such as OES is in offering services such as access to technical publications and interaction with peers, mentorship and awareness of the latest developments in the field. To a large extent, these are now going digital. Publications, formerly printed, have become online resources, social networks such as LinkedIn now provide online community interaction and job forums. So to remain relevant and valuable to its members, traditional societies (and OES is no exception) need to reinvent themselves to continue delivering value to members. This does not mean abandoning core values, or competencies, but it does mean pivoting the business model to new delivery channels, taking advantage of new technologies to deliver increased value to members. That is why I believe initiatives such as including code and data in peer-reviewed publications (as our new Editor in Chief of JOE has done), reaching out through social media and young professional development activities, providing personal mentorship interactions for students and young professionals, to name a few, are so important. The one thing that the digital age has not been able to copy is the value of actual physical gatherings of members, where face-to-face interaction and real networking happens, vital elements of OES activities. There is no substitute for personal presence and interaction, and the OCEANS conference and exhibition is a flagship event where all this comes together. At the same time, the digital age has globalized communication, connecting people from all over the world, and OES is following suit. Based in Europe, with an extensive network spanning Australasia and the US, I believe that I can be of unique value in supporting OES to recruit and engage a wider membership.
It should come as no surprise, then, that I am a passionate advocate of developing both digital and personal interactive services for our members, with particular focus on students and young professional development, through conferences, workshops and particularly OCEANS, facilitating exchange of knowledge between our members and communities in emerging and frontier research domains. I am excited by the opportunity to contribute to the development of some of these areas over the next few years, which I believe will be critical to establishing the future health and vibrancy of the OES, and its contribution to the health of the planet through awareness and advocacy.
If you have any questions about the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society voting process, please contact ieee-oevote@ieee.org or +1 732 562 3904.
Suleman Mazhar has been working as a professor in Information & Communication Engineering at Harbin Engineering University (China) since July 2019. He did PhD from Tokyo University (Japan) and postdoctorate from Georgetown University (Washington DC, USA). He had BS-CS from FAST-NUCES (Lahore) and MS from GIK Institute (Pakistan). He is TYSP young scientist fellow (Ministry of Science & Technology China) and have won several research grants from international organizations such as DAAD (Germany), ICIMOD (Nepal), NRPU (Higher Education Commission Pakistan), WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) Pakistan. His research focus is deep learning and signal processing applications for environmental monitoring, with particular focus on underwater acoustics, and marine mammal conservation. He is a reviewer for professional journals such as Journal of Acoustical Society (America), IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Sensors Journal, Applied Acoustics, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
Peng Ren is a full professor with the College of Oceanography and Space Informatics, China University of Petroleum (East China). He is the director of Qingdao International Research Center for Intelligent Forecast and Detection of Oceanic Catastrophes. He received the K. M. Scott Prize from the University of York, the Natural Science award (first rank) from China Institute of Electronics, and the Eduardo Caianiello Best Student Paper Award from 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing as one co-author. He has served as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.
Mohd Rizal Arshad is a full professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia, where he specializes in ocean robotics technology and intelligent system. He received his B.Eng. in Medical Electronics & Instrumentation and PhD in Electronic Engineering from University of Liverpool, UK in 1994 and 1999, respectively. He completed his MSc. in Electronic Control Engineering from the University of Salford, UK in Dec 1995. He has supervised many postgraduate students and published extensively in local and international publications. He is a senior member of the IEEE, and was awarded IEEE OES Presidential Award in 2019.
Itzik Klein is an Assistant Professor, heading the Autonomous Navigation and Sensor Fusion Lab, at the Charney School of Marine Sciences, Hatter Department of Marine Technologies, University of Haifa. He is an IEEE Senior Member and a member of the IEEE Journal of Indoor and Seamless Positioning and Navigation (J-ISPIN) Editorial Board. Prior to joining the University of Haifa, he worked at leading companies in Israel on navigation topics for more than 15 years. He has a wide range of experience in navigation systems and sensor fusion from both industry and academic perspectives. His research interests lie in the intersection of artificial intelligence with inertial sensing, sensor fusion, and autonomous underwater vehicles.
John R. Potter (IEEE M’94, SM’02, F’18) graduated in the previous century with a joint honours Mathematics and Physics Degree from Bristol and a PhD. in Glaciology and Oceanography from Cambridge, UK studying Antarctic ice mass balance, where he spent four consecutive summers. This work helped underscore the non-linear fragility of polar ice to climate change and led to him receiving the Polar Medal from Queen Elizabeth II in 1988.
Nick is a Visiting Fellow at the UK National Oceanographic Center, Southampton His nomination was endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics Technology Committee. He had worked as a Research Associate and Lecturer at University of Birmingham and has been working as a Research Scientist at the Applied Research Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin. He has also served as a Program Officer at the Office of Naval Research Global. He is a senior member of IEEE (OES) and a Fellow of Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Nick has also been serving as Assoc. Editor for IEEE JoE and JASA. He is widely acknowledged for his expertise are seabed acoustics, parametric array modeling, sonar beamformer, underwater signal processing.
Maurizio Migliaccio (M’91-SM’00-F’17) is Full professor of Electromagnetics at Università di Napoli Parthenope (Italy) and was Affiliated Full Professor at NOVA Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL (USA). He has been teaching Microwave Remote Sensing since 1994. He was visiting scientist at Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Lüft und Raumfahrt (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. He was member of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) scientific committee. He was member of the ASI CosmoSkyMed second generation panel. He was e-geos AdCom member. He was Italian delegate of the ESA PB-EO board. He was Member of South Africa Expert Review Panel for Space Exploration. He serves as reviewer for the UE, Italian Research Ministry (MIUR), NCST, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong Research board. He lectured in USA, Canada, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Italy. He was Italian delegate at UE COST SMOS Mode Action. He is listed in the Italian Top Scientists. He is an IEEE Trans. Geoscience and Remote Sensing AE, International Journal of Remote Sensing AE, and was IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering AE Special Issue on Radar for Marine and Maritime Remote Sensing, IEEE JSTARS AE of the Special Issue on CosmoSKyMed, Member of the Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics Editorial board. His main current scientific interests cover SAR sea oil slick and man-made target monitoring, remote sensing for marine and coastal applications, remote sensing for agriculture monitoring, polarimetry, inverse problems for resolution enhancement, reverberating chambers. He published about 160 peer-reviewed journal papers on remote sensing and applied electromagnetics.
He has developed various types of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and related application technologies including navigation methods, a new sensing method using a chemical sensor, precise seafloor mapping methods, a precise seabed positioning system with a resolution of a few centimeters, a new sensing system of the thickness of cobalt-rich crust; and more. He has shown, by using these technologies that AUVs are practicable and valuable tools for deep-sea exploration.
Donna Kocak has had an outstanding career in defense and scientific projects developing and applying solutions in subsea optics, imaging and robotics. She graduated with an M.Sc in Computer Science in 1997 from the University of Central Florida; an MBA in 2008 from the University of Florida; and M.Sc in Industrial Engineering in 2011 from the University of Central Florida. She is currently a Senior Scientist, Advanced Concepts Engineering, and Fellow at the Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida, where she has developed novel optical imaging and communication solutions for under-sea defense and scientific projects. Prior to 2008 Donna Kocak was Founder and President of Green Sky Imaging, LLC (GSI) who developed laser/video photogrammetry software for underwater inspection and survey. Her earlier career positions were with Naval Training Systems Center, Florida; Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Florida; eMerge Interactive; and the Advanced Technologies Group in Florida.
John Potter has a Joint Honours degree in Mathematics and Physics from Bristol University in the UK and a PhD in Glaciology and Oceanography from the University of Cambridge on research in the Antarctic, for which he was awarded the Polar Medal in 1988. John has worked on polar oceanography, underwater acoustics, ambient noise (including imaging), marine mammals, communications, IoUT, autonomous vehicles and strategic development. He has 40 years’ international experience working at the British Antarctic Survey in the UK, NATO in Italy, SIO in California, NUS in Singapore and most recently at NTNU in Norway. John is a Fellow of the IEEE and MTS, an Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, IEEE OES Distinguished Lecturer, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer & an International Fellow of the Explorer’s Club.
Dr. James V. Candy is the Chief Scientist for Engineering and former Director of the Center for Advanced Signal & Image Sciences at the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Candy received a commission in the USAF in 1967 and was a Systems Engineer/Test Director from 1967 to 1971. He has been a Researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 1976 holding various positions including that of Project Engineer for Signal Processing and Thrust Area Leader for Signal and Control Engineering. Educationally, he received his B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Cincinnati and his M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville. He is a registered Control System Engineer in the state of California. He has been an Adjunct Professor at San Francisco State University, University of Santa Clara, and UC Berkeley, Extension teaching graduate courses in signal and image processing. He is an Adjunct Full-Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Candy is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and elected as a Life Member (Fellow) at the University of Cambridge (Clare Hall College). He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Phi Kappa Phi honorary societies. He was elected as a Distinguished Alumnus by the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Candy received the IEEE Distinguished Technical Achievement Award for the “development of model-based signal processing in ocean acoustics.” Dr. Candy was selected as a IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for oceanic signal processing as well as presenting an IEEE tutorial on advanced signal processing available through their video website courses. He was nominated for the prestigious Edward Teller Fellowship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Candy was awarded the Interdisciplinary Helmholtz-Rayleigh Silver Medal in Signal Processing/Underwater Acoustics by the Acoustical Society of America for his technical contributions. He has published over 225 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports as well as written three texts in signal processing, “Signal Processing: the Model-Based Approach,” (McGraw-Hill, 1986), “Signal Processing: the Modern Approach,” (McGraw-Hill, 1988), “Model-Based Signal Processing,” (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2006) and “Bayesian Signal Processing: Classical, Modern and Particle Filtering” (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2009). He was the General Chairman of the inaugural 2006 IEEE Nonlinear Statistical Signal Processing Workshop held at the Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge. He has presented a variety of short courses and tutorials sponsored by the IEEE and ASA in Applied Signal Processing, Spectral Estimation, Advanced Digital Signal Processing, Applied Model-Based Signal Processing, Applied Acoustical Signal Processing, Model-Based Ocean Acoustic Signal Processing and Bayesian Signal Processing for IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society/ASA. He has also presented short courses in Applied Model-Based Signal Processing for the SPIE Optical Society. He is currently the IEEE Chair of the Technical Committee on “Sonar Signal and Image Processing” and was the Chair of the ASA Technical Committee on “Signal Processing in Acoustics” as well as being an Associate Editor for Signal Processing of ASA (on-line JASAXL). He was recently nominated for the Vice Presidency of the ASA and elected as a member of the Administrative Committee of IEEE OES. His research interests include Bayesian estimation, identification, spatial estimation, signal and image processing, array signal processing, nonlinear signal processing, tomography, sonar/radar processing and biomedical applications.
Kenneth Foote is a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The George Washington University in 1968, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University in 1973. He was an engineer at Raytheon Company, 1968-1974; postdoctoral scholar at Loughborough University of Technology, 1974-1975; research fellow and substitute lecturer at the University of Bergen, 1975-1981. He began working at the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, in 1979; joined the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1999. His general area of expertise is in underwater sound scattering, with applications to the quantification of fish, other aquatic organisms, and physical scatterers in the water column and on the seafloor. In developing and transitioning acoustic methods and instruments to operations at sea, he has worked from 77°N to 55°S.
René Garello, professor at Télécom Bretagne, Fellow IEEE, co-leader of the TOMS (Traitements, Observations et Méthodes Statistiques) research team, in Pôle CID of the UMR CNRS 3192 Lab-STICC.
Professor Mal Heron is Adjunct Professor in the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, and is CEO of Portmap Remote Ocean Sensing Pty Ltd. His PhD work in Auckland, New Zealand, was on radio-wave probing of the ionosphere, and that is reflected in his early ionospheric papers. He changed research fields to the scattering of HF radio waves from the ocean surface during the 1980s. Through the 1990s his research has broadened into oceanographic phenomena which can be studied by remote sensing, including HF radar and salinity mapping from airborne microwave radiometers . Throughout, there have been one-off papers where he has been involved in solving a problem in a cognate area like medical physics, and paleobiogeography. Occasionally, he has diverted into side-tracks like a burst of papers on the effect of bushfires on radio communications. His present project of the Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network (ACORN) is about the development of new processing methods and applications of HF radar data to address oceanography problems. He is currently promoting the use of high resolution VHF ocean radars, based on the PortMap high resolution radar.
Hanu Singh graduated B.S. ECE and Computer Science (1989) from George Mason University and Ph.D. (1995) from MIT/Woods Hole.He led the development and commercialization of the Seabed AUV, nine of which are in operation at other universities and government laboratories around the world. He was technical lead for development and operations for Polar AUVs (Jaguar and Puma) and towed vehicles(Camper and Seasled), and the development and commercialization of the Jetyak ASVs, 18 of which are currently in use. He was involved in the development of UAS for polar and oceanographic applications, and high resolution multi-sensor acoustic and optical mapping with underwater vehicles on over 55 oceanographic cruises in support of physical oceanography, marine archaeology, biology, fisheries, coral reef studies, geology and geophysics and sea-ice studies. He is an accomplished Research Student advisor and has made strong collaborations across the US (including at MIT, SIO, Stanford, Columbia LDEO) and internationally including in the UK, Australia, Canada, Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan, India, Sweden and Norway. Hanu Singh is currently Chair of the IEEE Ocean Engineering Technology Committee on Autonomous Marine Systems with responsibilities that include organizing the biennial IEEE AUV Conference, 2008 onwards. Associate Editor, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 2007-2011. Associate editor, Journal of Field Robotics 2012 onwards.
Milica Stojanovic graduated from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, in 1988, and received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, in 1991 and 1993. She was a Principal Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in 2008 joined Northeastern University, where she is currently a Professor of electrical and computer engineering. She is also a Guest Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Milica’s research interests include digital communications theory, statistical signal processing and wireless networks, and their applications to underwater acoustic systems. She has made pioneering contributions to underwater acoustic communications, and her work has been widely cited. She is a Fellow of the IEEE, and serves as an Associate Editor for its Journal of Oceanic Engineering (and in the past for Transactions on Signal Processing and Transactions on Vehicular Technology). She also serves on the Advisory Board of the IEEE Communication Letters, and chairs the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society’s Technical Committee for Underwater Communication, Navigation and Positioning. Milica is the recipient of the 2015 IEEE/OES Distinguished Technical Achievement Award.
Dr. Paul C. Hines was born and raised in Glace Bay, Cape Breton. From 1977-1981 he attended Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, graduating with a B.Sc. (Hon) in Engineering-Physics.