people & companies
Dr. Spinrad Headlines IMarEST Lecture
Dr. Richard Spinrad PhD, FIMarEST, CMarSci, Assistant Administrator, NOAA, will deliver the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology Stanley Gray Lecture "Ocean Research, who needs it; a view from the colonies" on October 25 in London. Dr Spinrad will explore the role of ocean science and technology from a diversity of perspectives: health, economics, security and environmental stewardship. He will be making an argument for the indisputable necessity of ocean research in support of societal exigencies; and present the first set of ocean research priorities ever produced in the United States. Dr. Spinrad explains: "I have spent the last four years working on the United States' statement of ocean research priorities, and it became abundantly evident to me very early in the process that we must associate the real benefit of our research to the daily concerns of society. The days of expressing oceanographic research priorities in terms of physics, biology, chemistry and geology, alone, are long gone. I firmly believe that the benefits of ocean research touch every one of our lives in a regular and meaningful way. Whether it's through reducing our insurance rates through better forecasts of natural hazards, or protecting a loved one from the perils of disease, or simply assuring that our holidays are more enjoyable, oceanographic research has a direct link to our lives, our livelihoods and our quality of life."
48 MTR
Dr. Bird Named Senior Sonar Scientist
Marport announced that Dr. John Bird will join Marport as Senior Sonar Scientist while on sabbatical from Simon Fraser University (SFU). Dr. Bird is co-inventor of patented sonar technology recently licensed to Marport and is founder of the Underwater Research Laboratory at SFU. Karl Kenny, Marport President and CEO, said "The appointment of John as Senior Sonar Scientist fills an important and strategic leadership role in the company as well as the underwater acoustics industry. Technology is Marport's lifeblood in an industry where innovation creates new products, drives competition and enhances value. This role requires an individual with the kind of strong leadership skills, technical background and passion for developing advanced underwater acoustics technology that John has displayed during his successful career. He will become a driving force in leveraging Marport's Software Defined Sonar platform for a wide variety of acoustic imaging applications." During his sabbatical, Dr. Bird will advise on hydroacoustic product development with emphasis on subsea 3D and 4D subsea mapping, software defined sonar for acoustic imaging, synthetic aperture sonar, use of unmanned underwater vehicles as sonar sensor platforms and novel applications of subsea acoustic imaging systems. He will help expand the company's position as an industry leader and innovator and work in close consultation with Marport engineers, product managers and senior executives to forecast the subsea acoustic solutions that Marport will offer in the years ahead.
Bluefin Promotes Wallsmith
Bluefin Robotics promoted Dr. Christopher Wallsmith to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Dr. Wallsmith will have the primary responsibility to advise and guide the company on its overall research and development path. He will also play a key role in building a vision of future AUV technology capabilities and communicating the vision to that technical staff and media. "Chris has done a tremendous job assisting Bluefin in acquiring and developing new technologies that improve our vehicle systems," said Dr. Brian Abraham, CEO. Dr. Wallsmith joined Bluefin in 2002 as Manager of the Software Department and moved to the head of the Quality Department and then Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). In conjunction with his new position,
Wallsmith will remain the head of the Quality Department so he can continue to focus on establishing and evolving Bluefin processes, software and hardware quality control, reliability engineering, and customer service as key components become productized. Prior to joining Bluefin, Dr. Wallsmith worked as a Senior Software Engineer at iRobot, participating in the development of the Coworker internet robot and the PackBot. Wallsmith received his PhD in Ocean Engineering from MIT in 1998 for work on Integrating Navigation and Mapping, providing a moving sensor formulation of the multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT) problem. Wallsmith received his SM, also in Ocean Engineering, for work on the vertical-plane dynamic control of survey-class AUVs.
October 2007
You don't have Macromedia Flash Player installed.
This content requires the Macromedia Flash Player.
Get Flash
www.digitalwavepublishing.com
www.MarineLink.com