Technology Committees and Chairs
The OES Technology Committee Coordinator
Prof. M. A. Atmanand
Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Technology – Madras, Chennai, India
Director (Ret.), National Institute of Ocean Technology, India
Email: adcom-a.atmanand@ieeeoes.org
1. Technology Committees Statements of Scope
1.1 Autonomous Maritime Systems (AMS)
Chair: Bharath Kalyan
2023-2024
Email: bharath.kalyan@ieee.org
Co-Chair: Bill Kirkwood
2023-2024
Email: kiwi@mbari.org
web page: autonomousmarinesystems.org
Keywords: Autonomous, Unmanned Vehicles, Maritime Systems, Navigation, Sub Surface
Scope: The technology of AMS vehicles includes flight, surface and subsurface assemblies that are comprised of various sub-systems and instruments. These include flight systems, navigation components, acoustics, propulsion systems, actuators, batteries, vision systems and computational assets for controls as well as data analysis with the outcome of data products. These various technologies are also implemented in a variety of ways beyond single purpose systems with vertical and horizontal multi-asset deployments working in an integrated fashion. An AMS implementation is frequently used in military applications for security purposes, such as harbors and so forth as well as for battle space preparations. Some systems are used in battle also. Other applications include marine science of all types such as to mid-water biology, mapping, chemical sensing, sampling and persistence applications. Industry is expanding rapidly into AMS vehicles with particular attention to oil field inspection and recently intervention tasks. The committee is active in a variety of ways with a focus on a single track symposium held every other year and rotated around the globe in service to our international membership. Along with these meetings the committee supports Special Issues of the OES Journal of Ocean Engineering. The committee is also playing a key role in AMS education by sponsoring student poster competitions for Masters and PhD students as well as supporting and judging at AMS competitions around the world, with OES frequently taking the top spot as the Sponsor.
1.2. Current, Wave, Turbulence Measurement and Applications
Chair: Weimin Huang
2023-2024
Email: weimin@mun.ca
Keywords: Currents, Waves, Turbulence, Hydrodynamics, Oceanography
Scope: The Current, Wave, Turbulence Measurement and Applications Technology Committee is concerned with methods of measuring dynamic physical parameters of the oceans and applying them to solving problems for society. The technologies used include sensors for physical, chemical and biological oceanography, and include in situ instruments as well as land-based or water-based remote sensing. Understanding of fluid dynamics requires fast, small, precise, non-invasive probes, and any applications require high spatial and temporal resolution. These technologies represent a continuation of the development of direct sensors but other techniques like correlation sonar and drifting floats offer alternatives. Survivability of sensors remains an issue, particularly in harbors and where fishing is intense on the shelf.
Interests of the technology committee are in developing and validating instruments for measurement as well as in applications in oceanography and environmental impacts. Observations and related data analytics are required for studies of the general circulation; pollution fingerprinting, transport and diffusion; vertical and horizontal profiles of current in harbors and rivers; spatial mapping of currents in estuaries, rivers and dams; boundary layer studies; wave fields; and pollution and hazard management. Knowledge of these parameters leads to improved safety and efficiency in shipping, coastal engineering and management of coastal waters and marine reserves.
CWTMA organises a four-yearly international workshop and provides papers and reviewers for other workshops and symposia.
1.3. Data Analytics, Integration and Modeling
Chair: Gopu Potty
2023-2024
Email: gpotty@uri.edu
Co-Chair: Ananya Sen Gupta
2023-2024
Email: ananya-sengupta@uiowa.edu
Keywords: Data Processing, Modeling, database QC, machine learning, data assimilation
The focus of this Technical Committee encompasses all aspects of data processing including data assimilation, data presentation, database design, filtering, modeling, and analysis. Additional focus areas associated with this committee include all activities and products associated with computer-oriented modeling, simulation, and databases within ocean engineering and science. Key research areas include data fusion, computational intelligence, artificial intelligence and machine learning and visualization tools, among many others. Use of models from across different disciplines has become more prevalent with the availability of enhanced computational resources. The TC facilitates these cross disciplinary interactions by highlighting the need for a better description of applicable models and related knowledge-discovery and data visualization, and updating databases with user-friendly interfaces. The TC proposes special sessions in conferences and organizes tutorials, workshops and symposia. It also proposes special issues in pertinent journals, especially the IEEE JOE.
1.4. Ocean Observation Systems and Environmental Sustainability
Chair: René Garello
2023-2024
Email: rene.garello@imt-atlantique.fr
Co-Chair: R. Venkatesan
2023-2024
Email: dr.r.venkatesan@gmail.com
Keywords: observations, interoperability, environment, sustainability, policy
The Ocean Observation Systems and Environmental Sustainability Technology Committee (“OOSES” TC) facilitates the gathering and interpretation of ocean information for the benefit of humanity. In this, the TC focuses on the interactions between the oceans and society. This includes furthering our understanding of the ocean “environment” and disseminating this understanding to decision-making and policy experts.
The TC facilitates discussions and analyses of issues related to the integration of technologies into observing systems as well as advances in observing systems that support decisions and policy making at international and national levels. Environmental sustainability concerns (e.g., Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs), ocean resources management, technology innovation and international cooperation are elements supporting decision-making. The analyses and recommendations produced by the TC would be disseminated through multiple means including, for example, oceans conference tracks, dedicated workshops and cooperation with GEO and other international organizations.
1.5. Ocean Remote Sensing
Chair: Ferdinando Nunziata
2023-2024
Email: ferdinando.nunziata@uniparthenope.it
Co-Chair: Paolo de Matthaeis
2023-2024
Email: paolo.dematthaeis@nasa.gov
Keywords: sensors, satellite, drones, geophysical monitoring, security
Short and long-term observation and monitoring of the oceans is necessary in order to maintain and increase maritime activity security and sustainable ocean exploitation. In this context there is an ongoing need for better sensors, vehicles and processing for limiting human exposure. Accurate and broad-scope information is necessary to develop optimum enterprises and partnerships. Threats and risks need to be understood and managed. New technologies and new processing algorithms are relying on better access to data, which is critical when dealing with remote sensing devices. This step is mandatory in any research and development project process and implies techniques, which are difficult to implement as well as expensive.
The interactions of engineers and scientists through our Conferences and Publications creates an assembly of talent that leads to rapid distribution of knowledge and stimulation to develop creative opportunities. The main place to meet and exchange is our flagship Conference, OCEANS. Several IEEE workshops or other conferences include many topics stated in the previous paragraphs and ranging from Earth Observation to AUVs.
1.6. Ocean Sustainable Energy Systems
Chair: William Wilson
2023-2024
Email: wpwilson@ieee.org
Keywords: Offshore wind, Wave energy, Tidal Power, Energy Storage, Floating platforms.
The Ocean Sustainable Energy Systems Technology Committee supports the development and deployment of fully sustainable and affordable systems for harvesting energy offshore, and delivering that energy in appropriate forms for human use. Thus, offshore wind power plant, tidal-range and tidal-stream generation plant, wave energy converters, systems generating electricity from thermal gradients and/or salinity gradients, offshore solar thermal and photovoltaic systems and systems for the offshore farming of algae and other biomass are all within the scope. Coupled with these energy harvesting technologies, the scope necessarily embraces systems for energy storage such as the various forms of offshore pumped-hydro, underwater compressed air storage and storage of synthesised energy vectors as well as systems for power transmission across stretches of the ocean/sea. Integrated systems comprising systems for energy harvesting, storage and transmission are central.
The scope includes energy-resultants (energy services) as well as energy. As an example, if cooling is required on a Mediterranean island, it may be better to pump cool water from deep in the Mediterranean than to generate electricity offshore and consume that in heat-pumps onshore. Other examples could include offshore data-processing, mineral/metal processing and refinement, and aircraft fuel synthesis. The OSES Technology Committee partners with the Offshore Energy and Storage Society to run regular workshops and conferences.
1.7. Polar Oceans
Chair: Andreas Marouchos
2023-2024
Email: andreas.marouchos@csiro.au
Co-Chair: Bill Yu
2023-2024
Email: xxy21@case.edu
web page: http://polaroceans.org/
Keywords: Arctic Ocean, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, extreme conditions
Scope: Research and development in the Arctic and Antarctic regions is dependent on infrastructure that requires long term planning and substantial budgets. The deployment of engineering and technology solutions in the polar oceans must be adapted to the harsh conditions there. All science and development goals are subject to weather extremes and remoteness, where even the simplest of measurements need special technology support. The challenges to monitoring changes in ocean physics and biology, sea ice and ice shelf dynamics need to be met so that we can understand and predict the future of the Earth system. Commercial operations such as transportation and mineral extraction industries need R & D support to manage the technical and operational challenges. In the Arctic Ocean receding sea ice is opening previously inaccessible sea lanes, which is providing increased commercial opportunities. The Antarctic region is governed by an international treaty that encourages research and focuses on environmental solutions for the physical systems of ice and water as well as for the unique ecology. The Polar Oceans TC supports the work addressing these challenges through relevant streams in conferences and the hosting of workshops and symposia.
1.8. Subsea Optics and Vision
Chair: Haiyong Zheng
2023-2024
Email: zhenghaiyong@ouc.edu.cn
Co-Chair: John Watson
2023-2024
Email: j.watson@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: Classical Optics, Quantum Optics, Photonic Devices, Imaging, Computer Vision, Optical Sensing
Scope: The Subsea Optics and Vision Committee serves a broad technology base with interests in underwater electromagnetic phenomena, research, and applications. Included are: Optical Imaging and Vision; Optical Physics and Physical Channel Characterization; Optical Sensor Development and Characterization; Holography and 3D Imaging Methodology and Processing; Optically-based Navigation; Optical Communications; Electromagnetic Sensing; and Quantum Sensing, Imaging, and Communications. Applications include:
- Conventional, non-conventional, and quantum optical sensor and systems development, testing, and evaluation for imaging, lighting, vehicle point-to-point or multipoint communications, ranging, chemical measurement, energy harvesting, etc.
- Active or passive methods for undersea mapping, inspection, navigation, identification, localization, and detection.
- Single and multidimensional processing techniques, implementation, and performance as applied to optical communication, image formation, detection/classification processes, secret key distribution and other cryptographic protocols for secure optical communications.
- Characterizing the physical characteristics of water and photon behavior for modeling, predicting, describing or enhancing classical and quantum optical imaging/communication performance or capability,
- Photogrammetric, tomographic, interferometric, temporal, or spatial principles for object detection, biological or minerogenic particle distribution characterization, chemical measurement, current measurement, data collection, etc.
- Hybrid optical systems used together with other technologies
Several joint IEEE/MTS workshops have been conducted with emphasis on latest developments, technology direction, and future needs relative to a broad segment of the undersea research community.
1.9. Underwater Acoustics
Chair: Suleman Mazhar
2023-2024
Email: suleman.mazhar@fulbrightmail.org
Co-Chair: Mehdi Rahmati
2023-2024
Email: m.rahmati@csuohio.edu
Co-Chair: Xuebo Zhang
2023-2024
Email: xuebo_zhang@ieee.org
Keywords: Sonar, bioacoustics, environmental acoustics, hydrography, naval acoustics
Scope: This committee is concerned with the generation, propagation, scattering, and reception of underwater sound, particularly technologies that enable detection, classification, localization, and quantification. Generic devices used for transmission and/or reception include echo sounders, multibeam sonars, sidescan sonars, acoustic-lens-based sonars, parametric sonars, standard sound sources, and hydrophones used singly or in arrays. When calibrated, these active or passive devices enable measurement and quantitative imaging. Operating frequencies span the sub-hertz to low-megahertz range. Traditional applications include hydrography, as in detecting hazards and determining bathymetry for navigation; military, as in anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures; and search and discovery, as for uses by law enforcement. Other major applications are bioacoustics, or quantification of fish, zooplankton, marine mammals, and other organisms, both mobile and stationary, as in the case of sea grass; environmental acoustics, or direct measurement and/or inference of hydrographic properties of the water column and material properties of the seafloor and sub-bottom; sediment acoustics, or measurement of the properties of suspended and consolidated sediment; and seismic acoustics, involving measurement of natural vibrations in the earth and imaging of the sub-bottom in geophysical exploration. Industrial applications abound, as in surveying the seafloor for offshore civil engineering projects; detecting natural gas seeps and pipeline leaks; inspecting vessel hulls; inspecting subsea platforms used by the offshore oil and gas industry; surveying routes for cables and pipelines; and monitoring noise produced by offshore industrial activities. The committee routinely convenes and conducts sessions at OCEANS Conferences, and liaises with other TCs.
1.10. Underwater Communication, Navigation and Positioning
Chair: Milica Stojanovic
2023-2024
Email: millitsa@ece.neu.edu
Co-Chair: Mandar Chitre
2023-2024
Email: mchitre@ieee.org
web page: http://underwatercomms.org
Keywords: Channel Modeling, Link-Layer Techniques, Network-Layer Techniques, Navigation.
Scope: This Technology Committee includes all aspects of wireless (e.g. acoustic) information transmission underwater. Topics include propagation and communication channel modeling; link-layer techniques (modulation/ detection, coding, signal processing methods such as equalization, synchronization, and array combining); network-layer techniques (channel access and sharing, routing, transport control); functions of localization, navigation and positioning as they relate to the overall architecture and mission of autonomous underwater systems
2. Technology Committees Overview
The technical scope of the Oceanic Engineering Society is very broad, encompassing the many specialties within electronic & electrical engineering that are applied in the ocean environment. To provide a focus for these within the OES, technology committees have been formed. The underlying philosophy is that Technology Committees should each have a clearly defined area of technology as their basis, and then have a scope that includes development of the technology and its applications, and expresses some idea about how their technology benefits humanity. This totem pole going from the foundations in technology to the benefits to humanity sets IEEE-OES apart from many of the ocean-related societies like the science-focused AGU on one hand and the technologically focused MTS on the other. There are currently 12 Technology Committees and their titles, scopes, keywords and leadership details can be found in Section 3 below. If you would like to participate in one of these committees, or if you have ideas for the formation of another committee, please contact the Technology Committees Coordinator or the chair of the committee in which you are interested.
The function of an OES Technology Committee, as specified in the OES Bylaws, is summarized below.
The FUNCTION OF AN OES TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE is to promote activities in its field under the overall supervision and administration of ADCOM and to provide the expert knowledge and assistance to:
- Organize and operate sessions at meetings of IEEE at all levels and at meetings of other organizations with which the OES Society is desirous of cooperating. They may organize technical symposia and conferences in the area of their technical coverage.
- Arrange through the Publication Committee and appropriate editors for publishing pertinent papers in IEEE publications.
- Encourage, generate and review papers within their scope in cooperation with the Journal Editor.
3. Technology Committee Activity Funding Scheme
The purpose of the OES TCAF scheme is to empower Technology Committees to plan and carry out activities by simplifying the support process.
A fund is set aside annually in the OES budget for the TECAF Scheme, and Technology Committee Chairs (TCCs) are invited to request support for specific planned events or activities. Proposals are be invited up to 2 years ahead to allow planning for Workshops or Symposia, or on a shorter time scale for conference special sessions or streams, and on an even shorter time scale for technical meetings and events. The TECAF Scheme can support planning or promotion activities and assistance, where appropriate, for a volunteer who is affiliated with a Technology Committee to attend an activity. Note that formal meetings like Workshops and Symposia must be approved by AdCom at least one year in advance and that approval includes budget estimates and possibly requests for funding. Normally a proposal to the TECAF Scheme for meetings and activities will show significant support from other sources.
The TECAF Scheme is administered by the Technology Committees Coordinator in consultation with the VPTA. There is no closing date because the TECAF Scheme operates on a rolling schedule. For this reason, Technology Committee Chairs are encouraged to submit their proposals as early as possible to the Technology Committees Coordinator.
For proposals that are approved, funds will be disbursed by the OES treasurer. OES will require an expenses report, and an article in the Beacon Newsletter for each funded project. Each activity or event should have an outreach element that promotes the Society and its membership.
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.