Distinguished Service Award

2022 Distinguished Service Award

John Watson receives the Distinguished Service Award from OES president Christopher Whitt.

It was an honor to present this year’s Distinguished Service Award to Dr. John Watson. John was chosen for his long involvement with the OCEANS Conferences and Exhibition, serving as Chair of OCEANS Aberdeen (2007 and 2017), Reconnaissance Committee Member since 2010, OES Administrative Committee Member (2006–2011, 2013–2018), and VP for OCEANS (2019–2022).

John is Emeritus Professor of Optical Engineering at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. His research group has acquired an international reputation in underwater holography and digital holography and has developed several subsea holographic cameras to image and analyze plankton. Prof Watson was recently elevated to IEEE Fellow.

John guided OCEANS through several challenging years and can hand the reigns to the next VP OCEANS after a very successful OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads. 2021 saw a major update to the OCEANS Conference Operating Policy (OCOP), which was an enormous undertaking. In addition to the pandemic challenges, John has advised numerous OCEANS proposals from the earliest stages through to the final conference closure.

Past Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society
2023 Fausto Ferreira
2022 John Watson
2021 Albert (Sandy) J. Williams, 3rd
2020 N. Ross Chapman
2019 Marinna Martini
2018 Jerry Carroll
2017 Robert L. Wernli
2016 Harumi Sugimatsu
2015 Elizabeth Creed
2014 Diane DiMassa
2013 Robert Bannon
2012 Robert Spindel
2011 James Barbera
2010 Thomas Freud Wiener
2009 Christian de Moustier
2008 Archie Todd Morrison III
2007 Stephen M. Holt
2006 Rene Garello
2005 Claude P. Brancart
2004 William M. Carey
2003 Joseph Czika
2002 James S. Collins
2001 Claude P. Brancart
2000 Frederick H. Maltz
1999 Pierre Sabathé
1998 Norman D. Miller
1997 Ferial M. El-Hawary
1996 Glen N. Williams
1995 David E. Weissman
1994 Daniel L. Alspach
1993 Edward W. Early
1992 Gordon Raisbeck
1991 Frederick H. Fisher
1990 Anthony I. Eller
1989 Eric Herz
1988 Harold A. Sabbagh
1987 Stanley L. Ehrlich
1986 Stanley G. Chamberlain
1985 Joseph R. Vadus
1984 John C. Redmond
1983 Elmer P. Wheaton
1982 Arthur S. Westneat
1981 Lloyd Z. Maudlin
1980 Donald M. Bolle
1979 Richard M. Emberson
1978 Edward W. Early
1977 Calvin T. Swift
1976 Frank Snodgrass
1975 Arthur S. Westneat