Key Activities

Endorsed by the Underwater Communications, Navigation and Positioning Committee.

Mandar is an Assoc. Professor at National University of Singapore. He is a Senior Member of IEEE (OES) and Editor in Chief of the Journal of Oceanic Engineering (JoE). Mandar has expertise and experience in many areas of underwater acoustics such as underwater communications, signal processing, especially in non-gaussian environments and marine robotics. He has given talks in many international conferences and forums including UN. IEEE OES community will be highly benefited from the sharing of his knowledge and perspectives in the areas of his expertise through DLs. His nomination was endorsed by the Underwater Communications, Navigation and Positioning Committee, of which he is also a Co-Chair.

Endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics Technology Committee.

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.

Endorsed by the Data Analytics, Integration and Modeling (DAIMS) Committee.

Shyam has 16 years of research experience spread across both industry and academia. Data science and machine learning in the field of marine bioacoustics is relatively new and is an emerging area of research. The appointment of Shyam as a DL will help to excite the OES members, especially the student community, and coach them to be proficient in this emerging field of research. Shyam is an IEEE (OES) Senior Member and is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, USA. He serves as a reviewer for reputed journals such as Journal of Ocean Engineering, JASA, Applied Acoustics, etc. He has been endorsed by the Data Analytics, Integration and Modeling (DAIMS) Committee. Data Science and Machine Learning as applied to marine bioacoustics, Automation and modeling are some of the areas Shyam has the expertise on and will be offered as part of his DLs.

Endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics Committee.

Eliza has been with the New Jersey Institute of Technology since 1994 and currently a Professor there. She is also the Chair of Department of Math-Science. She is a senior member of IEEE (OES) and a Fellow of ASA. She also has been an Assoc. Editor for Journal of Acoustical Society of America (JASA) and IEEE OES. Her nomination was endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics Committee. Inversion problems, sediment characterisation, multi-path localisation, etc., are some of the areas where Eliza has her expertise and proposes to give her DLs.

millitsa@ece.neu.edu

Endorsed by the Underwater Communication, Navigation, & Positioning (UNCP) Technology Committee.

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.

Topics:

• Autonomous underwater vehicle navigation
• Deep inertial sensing for marine robotics
• Data-driven approaches for AUV navigation

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.

Dr. Potter has 45 years’ experience in marine and glaciological research, holding academic University positions (NUS, NTNU), research institute roles (BAS, SIO, NUS, NTNU) and NATO research and senior management positions (Saclant ASW Centre, NURC, CMRE) across Europe, the US and Asia. He is now a Full Professor at NTNU in Norway. His scientific specialisations are glaciology, polar oceanography, acoustics, ambient noise, marine mammals, autonomous vehicles, machine intelligence, communications, distributed sensing networks, ocean advocacy and environmental conservation.

Frustrated by two decades of failure to promote ecosystem and climate awareness, in 2004 he took a 14-month ‘seabbatical’ with his family to circumnavigate the Indian Ocean by sailboat on a sponsored voyage of research, public outreach and education with a focus on the increasing degradation of the marine environment and mankind’s failed stewardship of this unique and beautiful blue planet.

Dr. Potter has 10 years’ experience facilitating, coaching & training personal performance & leadership skills, change-management, team building, relationship management & corporate strategy. Dr. Potter co-founded the Tropical Marine Science Institute and Founded the Acoustic Research Laboratory in the National University of Singapore, leading it from inception, through growth, to a sustainable internationally-recognized centre of excellence.

Dr. Potter has ~170 peer-reviewed publications with ~3400 citations, h-index = 26, i10-index = 66. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and MTS, International Fellow of the Explorers Club, Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, Lifetime Member Marine Mammal Society, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, TDI Nitrox and ECC Rebreather Diver and sometime General Aviation Pilot (Gliders and Gyrocopters).

It is no longer true that he neither owns nor operates a television.

Topics:

• Integrating the Internet of Underwater Things into the bigger picture of 6G – from Seabed to Space.
• Distributed Acoustic Sensing in the ocean – opportunities and synergies

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.

Topics:

• Novel marine robotics platform
• Intelligent system & methods
• Robust sensor design

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.

Topics:

• Underwater Imaging with Machine Learning
• Ocean Remote Sensing and Forecast with Machine Learning

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.

Topics:

• Pros/cons and common pitfalls of machine/deep learning approaches for bioacoustics for marine conservation and underwater communication
• Basics of underwater acoustics & communication and demonstrations of underwater acoustic/communication applications

Ralph Rayner is a professorial research fellow at the London School of Economics, Grantham Research Institute on Climate and the Environment. In addition, he serves as Industry Liaison at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Integrated Ocean Observing System Program Office.

Ralph has over forty years of experience in commercial ocean science and technology having held leadership positions in a number of ocean science and technology businesses around the world.

Ralph plays an active part in a number of learned societies and professional bodies concerned with ocean science and technology and is a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology (IMarEST), the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT), the Marine Technology Society (MTS), the Royal Meteorological Society, the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Oceanic Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the Royal Institution.

He is a past President of the Society for Underwater Technology and is co-chair of the IMarEST Operational Oceanography Special Interest Group. He serves as Editor in Chief for the Journal of Operational Oceanography and is a member of the editorial boards of International Ocean Systems and the journal of Underwater Technology.

Tomonari Akamatsu is the specialist of underwater bioacoustics. He received a master degree of physics from Tohoku University in 1989 and PhD of Agriculture from Nihon University in 1996. He dedicated underwater bioacoustics research at National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering until 2015. As a visiting scholar, he studied biologging science at National Institute of Polar Research in 1997 and fish auditory physiology at University of Kentucky during 1999-2000. He was a senior research fellow and the director of Policy Research Division of Ocean Policy Research Institute, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation during 2020-2024. Currently, he is a professor at Waseda University, and serves for domestic and international bodies such as IEEE/OES, ISO, IUCN and Government committees.

Weimin Huang is a Full Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Memorial University, Canada. He is a Senior Member of IEEE. He has been an Associate Editor for seven journals including the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, and a reviewer for more than 120 different journals. He is the Chair of IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) CWTMA Technology Committee and was the General Co-Chair and the Technical Program Co-Chair for the IEEE OES 13th Currents, Waves, and Turbulence Measurement Workshop. He was a recipient of a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Memorial University, the Discovery Accelerator Supplements Award from NSERC in 2017, and IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society 2019 Letters Prize Paper Award as well as some other teaching and research awards. He has authored or coauthored more than 300 refereed research articles. He has a broad expertise in remote sensing with main research interests in ocean remote sensing using high frequency (HF) radar, microwave marine radar (MMR), and global navigation satellite system – reflectometry (GNSS-R).

Topics:

• Sea surface wind, wave and current measurement using X-band marine radar
• Sea surface wind, wave, current mapping by HF radar
• Sea ice, wave and wind sensing with GNSS-R

Ye Li is the Founding Director of Australia-China Joint Center for Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Harnessing Technology and a Professor at Southern University of Science and Technology, China. He is a senior member of IEEE, a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Fellow of Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in ocean renewables and technology for his extensive works in theoretical, numerical and experimental studies on fluid-structure interaction. He has been an associate editor of Wind Energy, Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy, and many others. Until now, Dr.Li has published over 100 papers in archived journals and over 100 patents. Prior to current position, He was a senior scientist at U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory where he led the ocean power effort, and then Professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University where he was the Founding Director of 300 meter long Multiple Function Tank.