September 2019 OES Beacon

From the OES BEACON Editors

Harumi Sugimatsu and Robert Wernli

Your Beacon editors at OCEANS 2019 Marseille, enjoying some “promotional” beverages at the OCEANS 2021 Porto exhibit booth.

Welcome to the September 2019 issue of the Beacon as we prepare for the next OCEANS conference in Seattle. The latest changes to all our committees and volunteers can be found on the inside of the front and back covers. Again, we’d like to thank all of the contributors to our quarterly newsletter. As you can see by the content, this is your newsletter, and we try to cover all aspects of the society activities from our workshops, symposia and conferences to what our individual members, chapters and committees are up to. And, don’t forget, all issues of the Beacon are available on the OES website.

Of particular interest in this issue are the reports on our latest OCEANS 2019 Marseille conference that cover the conference in general and also the results of the Student Poster Competition. We also report on the Young Professional BOOST program and the resulting activity by the YPs at the conference. And a report from the French chapter on the first edition of the OES Festival of Distinguished Lectures that took place near Toulon, on the Mediterranean coast, in France following the conference.

The Journal EIC again provides recently released papers that are available to our members and our RECON chair reports on the latest activity in our OCEANS conference planning. And, beginning in this issue, we will provide reports from our technology committees, such as the one from the Ocean Sustainable Energy Systems (OSES) Technology Committee. There are 12 technology committees as shown on the inside of the back cover of this issue . . . get involved and enhance your career.

There is plenty going on in our chapters as reported in the articles from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Also, read the report from the OES Chapter Coordinator on upcoming financial support to the chapters.

And congratulations to team KUROSHIO from Japan, a joint research team, that includes several OES members, competing in the global competition of the “Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE.” Among the 32 teams from all over the world, Team KUROSHIO finished 2nd in the grand-final, and were awarded the runner-up prize.

The Beacon continues to report on member activities in the robotic field. This issue includes a report on JAMSTEC’s 2019 Underwater Robot Convention and also a report on the CMRE hosted annual European Robotics League Emergency 2019 robotics competition held in July.

We also take pride in our members. Be sure to see the latest articles on Member Highlights, Member Awards and “Who’s Who in the OES.” In addition, we have the latest on the “reboot” of Earthzine, OES’s science outreach e-magazine, by its newly appointed editor.

Of particular interest in this issue is the result of our AdCom elections. The election included an excellent international slate of candidates. Congratulations to those elected and our encouragement to the others to become a candidate again in next year’s elections.

There is a wealth of other information and articles in this issue that we hope you enjoy. And, as always, we’ll close by inviting you to participate in your society. Submit articles and material for the Beacon. Or . . . volunteer for other society activities as a participant or an elected officer. It’s your society and it is here to help you reach your professional goals. Enjoy.