may-june 2010 - marine technology society

T hrough the generous support of Ocean News and Technology magazine, MTS will add two new winners to its roster of honorees at the Annual Awards Luncheon at OCEANS conferences. The first two Ocean News and Technology Young Professional Awards will be presented at

W h a t ’ s n e W

nL section ChairOutlines Vision

Page 9

Meet two newCommittee Chairs

1

’95 ROV scholarshipKeeps on Giving

Page 17

Marine technology society, Inc.5565 Sterrett Place, Suite 108

Columbia, MD 21044410-884-5330

410-884-9060 Fax

www.mtsociety.org

I n t h I s I s s u e : MTS Conference News 2

Society News 4

Members & Others in the News 6

Section News 8

Professional Committees 11

Business News 13

Science and Technology News 16

Education News 17

Resources News 18

Legislative News 18

Ocean Community Calendar 19

See OCEANS’10 on page 5

W ith OCEANS’10 MTS/IEEE Seattle, September 20–23, only three-and-a-half months away, plans for a memorable con-ference are well in hand.

The conference theme, “Innerspace: A Global Respon-sibility,” focuses on shared

news from the Marine technology society

See New Conferences on page 10

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 0

V O L U M E 3 3 , N O . 3

Avery Vaughn, Texas A&M University-Galveston, is the new MTS Council student representative. See the story in Society News.

OTC Launches Two New Conferences

T he Houston-based Offshore Technology Conference is adding two new conferences starting in 2011. The OTC model will serve as the basis for the Offshore Technology Conference-Brasil (OTC-Brasil) and the Arctic Technology Conference (ATC). As one of 12 societies that sponsors OTC, MTS will also be a sponsor of the two new conferences. The Arctic Technology Confer-ence is slated for February 7–9

OCEANS’10 MTS/IEEE Seattle

Where East Meets West & Industry Meets Academiaresponsibilities for a complex, dynamic system. Explained MTS member Robert Spindel, local organizing committee chair and director emeritus of the Applied Physics Labo-ratory at the University of Washington, “The goal of the

plenary session is to provide an overview of ocean engineering, technology and policy issues in both the United States and overseas. Given Seattle’s location, it’s natural to focus on the Pacific Rim as a proxy for the worldwide ocean.”

New Award Honors Young ProfessionalsOCEANS’10 MTS/IEEE Seattle in September. The awards will recognize two individuals who have demon-strated excellence in their careers and have made a valuable contribution to MTS. To be eli-gible, candidates must be 35 years of age or younger, MTS

members in good standing and working in a professional capacity in management, engineering, or research and development in a marine tech-nology field. Each recipient will receive $1,000, as well as an award and recognition. n

Kudos to

Our GraduatesPage 15

Currents M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 02

Currents, published bimonthly, is a membership benefit of the Marine Technology Society, the leading multidisciplinary society for marine professionals. Individual membership is $75. Life membership is a one-time $1,000.

To join MTS, visit the website at www.mtsociety.org or e-mail [email protected].

Send information for Currents to [email protected].

the deadline to get items in the next issue of Currents is June 16.

Send address changes to [email protected]

O F F I C E R SPresidentElizabeth [email protected]

President-electJerry [email protected]

Immediate Past PresidentBruce C. Gilman, [email protected]

VP – section affairsKevin [email protected]

VP – education and ResearchJill [email protected]

VP – Industry and technologyJerry C. [email protected]

VP – PublicationsKarin [email protected]

treasurer and VP – Budget and FinanceDebra [email protected]

VP – Government and Public affairsJustin [email protected]

executive DirectorRichard [email protected]

editor-in-ChiefSusan [email protected]

OCEANS’10 MTS/IEEE Seattle ConferenceInnerspace: A Global ResponsibilitySeptember 20–23 Seattle, Wash. www.oceans10mtsieeeseattle.org Please read the story on page 1.

Dynamic Positioning ConferenceOctober 12–13 Houston, Texas www.dynamic-positioning.comNow in its 14th year, the conference is internationally recognized as the leading annual pro-fessional symposium covering the latest changes, developments and technology pertaining to dynamic positioning. Attracting an international audience of DP professionals, world-class experts present cutting-edge papers on the latest technology and developments associated with dynamic positioning, while DP manufacturers and service companies exhibit their products and services. To accommodate the high demand for exhibit space, this year’s conference will include a larger exhibit area. Those interested are encouraged to book space early as space sold out in recent years. Booth reservations may be made through the website.

Techno-Ocean 2010A New Era of the Ocean October 14–16 Kobe, Japan www.techno-ocean2010.comThis biennial conference is an important networking opportunity for those interested in connecting with Asian companies and learning about the latest technologies. Two special topics at this year’s conference will be “Marine Education and Education for Sustainable Development” and “Towards Sustainable Use and Management of the Oceans.”

Arctic Technology ConferenceFebruary 7–9, 2011 Houston, Texas www.arctictechnologyconference.org Please read the story on page 1.

Underwater Intervention 2011February 22–24 New Orleans, La. www.underwaterintervention.comPlanning is already underway for the next UI. Mark your calendars and keep an eye on the website for the latest details.

9th International Rope Technology WorkshopMarch 2011 Texas A&M University-Galveston This combination conference and workshop will feature published papers as well as unpublished presentations. For more information and to offer your services in planning, contact [email protected].

Offshore Technology Conference-BrasilOctober 2011 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil www.otcnet.org/pages/general/brazil.html Please read the story on page 1.

advertising InformationCurrents is sent to all national and international MTS members and is also on the MTS Web site, which is accessed by over 400,000 hits per year. For more information about prices, contact [email protected]. NOTE: The publisher reserves the right to reject copy that fails to meet the standards of taste and fair statement that Currents follows.

Currents M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 0 3

Currents M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 0�

A

Society News

D R I L L D O W NIt’s All AboutCommunicationKarin LynnVice President of Publications

W hen I was asked to run for vice president of publica-tions, my first reaction was, “What do I know about publica-tions?” and then, “Why would I want to do that??” But the nominating committee persevered, I was elected and I’ve been delighted about it ever since.

As it turns out, I didn’t need to know much about publica-tions per se, because our proficient home office team readily handles the mechanics and logistics. Content is proficiently generated by experts: the Journal is edited by Brian Bingham (who, as you know, recently relieved Justin Manley after Justin’s five-plus, exceptional years as editor) and guided by a dedicated Editorial Board and staff, as noted by Justin in his Drilldown column in January. Guest editors round out the team that is now producing six issues a year, including expanded “best of kind” papers from OCEANS conferences, a student issue, and regular, themed issues. The January Trieste compendium that commemorated the 50th anniversary of that ship’s deep dive was a slight—but quite well-deserved and well done!—deviation from the mold. (Check the “Store” link on the MTS website to snag your copy of the hardback, coffee table version for posterity.) Other recent initiatives with the Journal have included bringing it online and archiving past copies for online retrieval.

MTS publications also include the Currents you hold in your hands, and the e-News that floats into your e-mailbox monthly. Both of these information-packed pubs are produced by Susan Branting with the home office staff. A key component of Currents is updates of what is going on in Sections and Committees, and with our individual and corporate members—and you are the best source of information for that; please help! In addition to these updates, I’m constantly amazed by the quantity and quality of articles and timely facts and figures Susan gathers from various sources to make both of these resources relevant and useful. She welcomes input here, too, so feel free to contact her at [email protected] with contributions or suggestions.

Pubs are a form of communication, imparting data or information. Our website, too, is such a tool, and in addition to providing a knowledge source for members, it is a face of MTS to the public. Like e-News, it can and should be timely and continuously updated, contain easily-searchable infor-mation and answer the questions most likely to be asked. Under the auspices of “publications as communication,” I’m looking to facilitate an ad hoc group to review our current website and develop some ideas to enhance it to even better meet the needs of both our members and visitors. If you’re interested in helping, please contact me at [email protected]. In the meantime, happy reading! n

Bill Richardson (left) and John Fornshell pose in front of the MTS booth at the American Society of Naval Engineers’ ASNE Day 2010 in Arlington, Va. Fornshell, treasurer of the Washington, D.C., Section, helped MTS Membership Manager Jeanne Glover man the booth at the April meeting. Richardson, head of ShipDoc, Ltd., joined MTS after learning about the society at the booth.

Avery Vaughn Selected as Student Council Rep

very Vaughn has been selected to be the new student representative to the MTS Council. Vaughn began her tenure at the Council meeting held at the Offshore Technology Conference in May. She is a rising senior at Texas A&M University-Galveston, working on a bachelor’s degree in maritime systems engineering with a minor in economics.

In describing her interest in representing students on the Council, Vaughn wrote that she wanted “to be able to convey my ideas to MTS on how to best improve student sections and help them prosper. I enjoy being a part of MTS, and I would like to help make MTS even more accessible and enjoyable to all students interested in marine science and engineering.”

Vaughn replaces Katy Croff, who finished her two-year term at the OCEANS’09 MTS/IEEE Biloxi Conference.

“Katy was an outstanding representative for our student members,” said Rich Lawson, executive director. “One of her major contributions was her active advocacy for creating Student Leadership Meetings.” The first Student Leadership Meeting was held at the Biloxi Conference, and Croff was one of the presenters, sharing her experiences as a founder of the MIT Student Section, which has won numerous MTS Outstanding Student Section Awards. Avery Vaughn was one of the participants. She gave a presentation on the advantages to student sections of making connections with professional MTS Sections. n

Networking Opportunity!Connect with other marine technology professionals on the

MTS LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com. Look for the Marine Technology Society group.


A

MTS Supports NOSBOnce again, MTS gave member-ship to the coaches who led their teams to victory at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl competition in April. Marine technology was the theme of this year’s competition. At the time Currents went to press, the final results were not in.

Society News

To find out who won, visit www.oceanleadership.org/edu-cation/national-ocean-sci-ences-bowl.

Breakfast a First StepMTS Executive Director Rich Lawson called the successful breakfast meeting held at Oceanology International in

webinar for MTS student members aimed at sharing infor-mation about MTS, generating ideas for future activities, and encouraging student members to become more involved in MTS was hosted in April by VP of Education Jill Zande.

MTS Executive Director Rich Lawson encouraged the listeners to take advantage of their membership by getting involved in MTS’s professional committees, where they can network, share information and collaborate with marine professionals special-izing in specific topic areas. Zande spoke to students about last year’s Student Leadership Meeting, which took place at OCEANS in Biloxi. At that meeting one representative from each student section and one “at-large” student member met with MTS members and staff; attended technical sessions, exhibits and a career fair; and networked with professionals.

During the webinar, several students expressed a desire to locate and reach out to MTS professional members in their areas, so the professionals could either serve as mentors or speak at student section events.

Avery Vaughn of the Texas A&M-Galveston Section, made apresentation imploring students to volunteer at professional section events whenever possible, and also to keep student section meetings fun and lively—and provide free food whenever possible.

University of Southern Mississippi’s V.J. Maisonet discussed a new outreach program he is instituting at USM. USM Section members plan to visit local high schools to demonstrate the ROV in a Bag program, using ROV kits donated by Drew Michel and the ROV Committee. Maisonet commented that the USM Student Section members are excited to have an opportunity to reach out and help cultivate the next generation of marine technologists. In commenting on the success of the webinar, Zande noted, “This was the first of a series of webinars specifically designed to meet the needs of our student members. We’re thrilled to see such an increase in students’ participation in the society and look forward to continuing to support their pathway to the ocean workforce. We encourage students to contact us with ideas for future webinars.”

Contact info is at www.mtsociety.org under “Contact Us.” n

Dr. Asahiko Taira, exec-utive director of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center; Liu Feng, executive director of the Chinese Ocean Mineral Resource Agency; and Nii Odunton, secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (an MTS member) are among those scheduled to speak in the plenary session. Spindel noted, “These distin-guished speakers will highlight the intersection of science, engineering, technology and policy in oceans management.”

Local-Interest TopicsConference technical topics encompass both regional and global developments. For example, in the Pacific Northwest, the Canadian

OCEANS’10continued from page 1

tutorials, posters, receptions, awards luncheons,” explained local organizing committee co-chair Ted Brockett, founder and president of MTS member Sound Ocean Systems. “And it will feature a gala reception at the Museum of Flight. Because of the central role aviation and Boeing have played in Seattle’s history, the museum offers a unique showcase of flight-related history and advanced technology that will appeal to conference delegates and their families and friends.” Guests will be able stroll among and sit in Sopwith Camels, a Concorde SST, President Kennedy’s Air Force One and Soviet-era MiGs.

Outreach and Educational OpportunitiesA student paper session and competition will be fea-

tured, as well as programs for high school students and teachers, and a job fair for undergraduate and graduate students exploring careers in ocean science and technology.

Location AdvantagesThe Washington State Trade and Convention Center is in downtown Seattle, within easy walking distance of his-toric Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Art Museum, the waterfront, and ferries to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton, and within the city bus system’s free-ride zone.

Between the location, the exhibitors and vendors, and the global gathering of ocean scientists, technologists and policy experts, there is every reason for you to attend OCEANS’10 MTS/IEEE Seattle. n

March a “first step in opening the door to a stronger rela-tionship between MTS and Commerce.” The breakfast brought together nearly a dozen U.S. companies to hear how the U.S. Commerce Department can facilitate overseas business arrange-ments. Lawson said the

attendees were enthusiastic and stayed after the meeting to talk to the Commerce department representative and the keynote speaker, Oliver Wragg, wave and tidal devel-opment manager of the British Wind Energy Association. n

cabled observatory system (VENUS) will soon be joined by the University of Washing-ton’s companion Regional Scale Nodes cabled observ-atory system (formerly NEPTUNE) to create a multi-national observing network off the coasts of Washington and British Columbia. And multiple start-up technology firms have filed permits for the creation of tidal in-stream and wave energy systems around Seattle’s Puget Sound. As goes the Pacific Northwest, so goes the world, and conference organizers anticipate multiple technical sessions devoted to these topics of both local and global interest.

Gala Reception“OCEANS’10 MTS/IEEE Seattle will feature familiar events—exhibitors and vendors, papers,

Webinar Helps Connect Student Members with MTS


unfeasible. Natural gas from the project represents a 10 percent increase in the supply from the Gulf of Mexico. The award was presented to Anadarko Petroleum and Enterprise Field Services for the project.

Extreme EngineerMTS member Carlos Chicquillo was the focus of the “Extreme Engineer” article in the March issue of the Pre-Engineering Times, a publi-cation of the Junior Engineering Technical Society. The March issue focused on ocean engineering. Among other things, the article explained what Chicquillo does at at MTS member Pegasus International, why he chose

a career in engineering and how students can succeed. Chicquillo is a co-lead of the Houston Section’s Young Professionals Group. Web link: www.jets.org/explore/what/extreme_chiquillo.cfm

Members and Others in the News

iRobot Celebrates 20thHappy Birthday to MTS member iRobot, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in March. In 2008, iRobot established an office in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., dedicated to autonomous maritime systems.

Award WinningKudos to MTS member Burt Hamner, CEO of Hydrovolts, who won the Zenith Award for Best Presenter out of an audience of nearly 100 entrepreneurs, investors and others at the ZINO Green Investment Forum in Seattle in March.

PIG Award WinnerCongratulations to MTS member Subsea 7, which was honored with the 2010 Pipeline Industries Guild (PIG) Award for Subsea Pipeline Technology. The award was presented at the 53rd PIG National Dinner held in London in March. The award recognizes the contribution made by Subsea 7 for the design, manufacture, testing and operation of a new deepwater diverless pipeline repair system. The system was used to repair a damaged 12-inch water injection pipeline in 1,350 meters water depth in the Girassol field operated by Total, operator for the Block 17 Consortium, as contractor of Sonangol Concessionnaire. Allan Glennie from Subsea 7’s Aberdeen office accepted the award.

Top ContributorCongratulations, also, to Mel Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of Subsea 7, who was presented with the Outstanding Contri-bution Award at the 25th Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards. The award recognizes an individual’s vision, key achievements and milestones, as well as the esteem in which they are held by peers and the industry. According to Malcolm Webb, chief exec-utive of Oil & Gas UK, “Mel has not only been an inspiring leader of Subsea 7 but he has also found time to continually foster and promote constructive industry collaboration not only within the subsea community but also across the whole U.K. offshore oil and gas industry and between industry and government. A sometime and highly influential member of the Pilot forum, the Industry Leadership Team and the Contractors and Suppliers leadership team, Mel played a crucial leading role in the creation of Oil & Gas UK, which for the first time brought all the industry representation in these bodies into one cohesive and leading pan-industry organization.”

OTC AwardsThe Offshore Technology Conference’s 2010 Distinguished Achievement Awards were presented to Hugh Elkins and to Independence Hub at the OTC Awards Luncheon in Houston in May. Elkins received the OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals for his contributions in more than 53 years in the offshore oil industry, including working for National Oilwell Varco and Hydril. Elkins developed the industry standard of 6-foot-radius technology for subsea wellhead guide bases and blowout preventer stack guide frames, which permitted industry interchange-ability of subsea equipment. OTC’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies, Organizations and Institutions recognized Independence Hub for its innovative collaboration in creating a coordinated infrastructure solution that provided access to ultra-deepwater reserves that previously were economically

MTS Committee Chair Finds Timeto Volunteer for NOSB and MentorThrough the EnvironMentor program, Jacob Sobin (left) helps sophmore Matthew Baldwin (center) with a science fair project while another EnvironMentor volunteer looks on. Sobin, who juggles mentoring with his duties as chair of the MTS Ocean Pollution Committee, still found time to help with this year’s Chesapeake Bay Bowl, a regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Baldwin attends School Without Walls high school in Washington, D.C. His project is a social-economical analysis of the effects of sea-level rise in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. EnvironMentors is a national program that prepares high school students from under-represented backgrounds for college degree programs in environmental and related science fields. Sobin lives in Washington, D.C., where he has a one-year fellowship with Earth Resources Technology to work with NOAA on coastal no-adverse impacts. n (Photo courtesy of EnvironMentors)

Carlos Chicquillo

continued on page 7

Currents M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 0 �

MNavy Lauds Trieste Pilot Don Walsh TS member Don Walsh, Ph.D., who co-piloted the historic 1960 deep-sea voyage of the Trieste, was honored by the Department of the Navy in a ceremony held in April at the U.S. Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard where the Trieste is housed. The award saluted Walsh’s achievement and service in the years after his retirement from the Navy in 1975. Walsh has served as a U.S. policy adviser on State Department and federal science boards, has authored

more than 200 published contributions to marine literature and has presented more than 1,500 lectures in 50 countries.

Rear Adm. Nevin P. Carr, Jr., chief of naval research, praised Walsh for his achievements. “His willingness to undertake great risk in the pursuit of great scientific reward epitomizes the core values of the Office of Naval Research and the Navy,” Carr said. “His thirst for public service in the years since is worthy of emulation by war-fighters and civilian partners everywhere.” The Navy purchased the Swiss-Italian-made Trieste in 1958 to supports its new deep-submer-gence program and submarine rescue operations.

The awards event included presentations from Carr; Rear Adm. David W. Titley, oceanographer and navigator of the Navy; Rear Adm. Jay A. DeLoach, director of the Naval Historical Center; and MTS members George Martin, a former Trieste pilot, and Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., explorer-in-residence, National Geographic Society. n

Members and Others in the News

Moving on to Ph.D.sSeveral MTS members who recently graduated are now pursuing Ph.D.s. Julia Burrows has started a Ph.D. program in marine science and conservation at Duke University in North Carolina. Trish Hredzak will be starting the Ph.D. program in oceanog-raphy at the University of Delaware this fall.

QinetiQ CFOJeffrey R. Beck has been named chief financial officer of MTS member QinetiQ North America Technology Solutions Group. Beck has almost 30 years of experience in all aspects of financial and operations management focused primarily in the government contracting sector. Most recently, he was executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of STG, Inc.

New Conservancy VPMatt Tinning has been promoted to vice president for external affairs at the Ocean Conservancy. Tinning was previously the organization’s legislative director. The Ocean Conservancy also recently hired Emily Woglom as director of government relations.

New COL ChairIn March, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership welcomed four new trustees, inluding a new board chair, Nancy Targett from the University of Delaware. The outgoing chair, MTS member Shirley Pomponi, will remain on the board.

New Quest HireBill Donaldson has been hired by MTS member Quest Offshore Resources as Scotland/North England manager. Donaldson has 30 years experience in operations, sales and marketing. He reports to Nick Search, vice president, and will also be making ongoing contributions to research projects.

Schilling Hires ManagersMTS member Schilling Robotics has hired Alan Newlands as ROV product manager and Gavin Duncan as project manager. They are both based in Schilling’s North Sea Regional Office. Newlands is responsible for managing the strategic direction of Schilling’s ROV systems product line, and Duncan supports the company’s remote intervention business in Europe.

Klein Appoints Sales ManagerBill Charbonneau has been appointed regional sales manager for the side scan sonar systems division of Klein Associates of L-3 Communications. Charbonneau will be responsible for implementing Klein’s strategy to multiply its sales of domestic and international multi-beam side scan and bathymetric sonar systems. n

Trieste pilots Don Walsh and Jacque Piccard.

In Memoriam

James D. (Jim) Miessler, 65, died at his home in Cumberland, Va., on February 8 of throat cancer. In 1985, he co-founded and was president of Syntech Materials, Inc. (Syntech Technologies), Lorton, Va. He was considered a leading authority in syntactic foam used as buoyancy in the underwater industry and was active in supporting youth activities related to the industry. Miessler graduated from Ohio State University in 1967 with a five-year bachelor of science degree in ceramic engineering. He worked in the materials lab at Newport News Shipbuilding from 1967 to 1975 and then became department head of the materials lab at Warco, Inc. (later owned by Albany International) in Agawam, Mass. In 1980, he accepted an offer by Versar, Inc., Springfield, Va., to set up and manufacture buoyancy foams. In 1985, Syntech Materials was incorporated and began operation in January 1986. He is survived by his wife of 39 year, Patricia (Patsy), and his mother, Beth Reinert of Fairfax. His father, James Dipko, was killed in action during World War II, before Jim’s birth. Mrs. Miessler said her husband’s wish was that any remembrances be made to the Marine Technology Society Scholarship Fund. n

Are you current in Currents?See your company’s name in Business News.

Brag about your new hires.

Send your press releases to [email protected].


Section News

O

Dewayne Hollin (left), SeaGrant Program, was recognized for having organized the Marine/Offhore Industry Outlook Conference for 32 years. With him, from left, are Tom Fry, outgoing president of NOIA; Marcy Whites, MTS Houston Section chair; and Sandor Karpathy, Outlook Conference chair.

n March 24 and 25, the MTS Houston Section hosted the 33rd Annual Marine/Offshore Industry Outlook Conference in conjunction with the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and the Texas Sea Grant Program.

The conference kicked off with an evening reception on March 24, hosted by the Houston Section’s Young Professionals and attended by some 80 delegates.

Around 200 industry professionals then attended the half-day conference on March 25, at which industry leaders provided three-year forecasts on developments, trends and other critical issues facing the marine/offshore industry. Covering both domestic and international issues, discussions included comments on legis-lation, developments in the Gulf of Mexico, financial planning and future predictions.

Key addresses included a legislative overview by Tom Fry, out-going president of NOIA, and an overview of financial planning presented by Jim Wicklund, principal of Carlson Capital, LLC. These presentations were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Randall Luthi, incoming president of NOIA. Panel participants included Marc Lawrence, senior VP, Fairfieldnodal, who discussed the seismic market and related regulatory issues; Matt Ralls, pres-ident and CEO of Rowan Companies, who covered offshore drilling; Jack Moore, president and CEO with Cameron Industries, who pro-vided an overview and forecasts for the offshore services sector; and Jay Collins, president and CEO of MTS member Oceaneering International, who provided an overview of current and future trends affecting the offshore construction industry.

The conference concluded with a luncheon and presentation by Rob Gardner, manager of ExxonMobil’s Economics and Energy

Houston Section Hosts Successful Outlook Conference

HoustonCasey Hodges received the MTS Houston Sec-tion’s Outstanding Ocean Engineering Student award in March at a joint meeting of the MTS and Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers student sections of Texas A&M-College Station. Chuck Richards presented the award. Hodges, who was selected by TAMU pro-fessors, also received a $250 cash award from the MTS Houston Section.

The section will hold its annual Golf Tournament at the Wildcat Golf Club on July 23. Registration sign-in begins at 11:30 a.m. The tournament starts at $1. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Find out more at www.mtshouston.org/golf.cfm. Chair: Marcy Whites, [email protected]

Division, Corporate Planning Department, who gave a 25-year international energy forecast entitled “Outlook for Energy. A view to 2030.”

The Marine/Offshore Industry Outlook Conference has tradition- ally been hosted by the Texas Sea Grant Program in conjunction with NOIA and supported by the MTS Houston Section. Following the successful outcome of this year’s conference, the MTS Houston Section anticipates hosting the conference as part of its annual events program in future years. n

Casey Hodges (left), with Chuck Richards, was honored at the TAMU-College Station Student Section Meeting with a Houston Section Award for Outstanding Engineering Student.

Newfoundland and LabradorThe section has elected its first group of leaders. Bill O’Keefe, P.E., is the new chair. John Butler was elected vice-chair, while Randy Gillespie is the secretary and Darrell O’Neill is the treasurer. O’Keefe has worked in the public and private sectors of marine technology. As an engineering manager, he worked with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to deploy electronic infra-structure, such as radio communications sites and DGPS sites, and he has contributed to the development of AIS and other technologies that improved the delivery of marine safety infor-mation. O’Keefe has also participated in the development of new products, including voyage data recorders and radar extractors/ recorders, while working with the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications. With Nautical Data International, he con-tributed to the distribution and production of electronic marine charts. “I’m delighted to be elected chair. This role will allow me to collaborate with others and participate in innovative projects, which is where I have the most fun,” he said.

A native of St. John’s, John Butler graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1979 with a bachelor of engi-neering degree before becoming a professional engineer in 1981. Butler brings over 25 years of experience working with the Canadian Coast Guard. Since joining the Coast Guard in

continued on page 9


A

Section News

1982, he has held many positions leading up to his current role. As assistant commissioner of CCG-Newfoundland and Lab-rador Region, he is the highest ranking Coast Guard official in the province. In October of 2007, Butler was awarded the title of “Knight, Order of Merit Marine” by the government of France.

Randy Gillespie is a marine geoscientist with over 20 years experience in offshore surveys, satellite and airborne remote sensing, marine ICT sector development, project and program management, and international business development. Before joining the School of Ocean Technology, Gillespie was vice president of CCMC. During this time, he initiated and managed numerous technology, business and network-development initia-tives in collaboration with public- and private-sector partners. From 2003 to 2006, he served as deputy director of the Canadian GeoProject Centre (www.cgpc.ca). In this capacity he was respon-sible for the development of international projects focused on marine information infrastructure. He is currently managing editor of The Journal of Ocean Technology. Gillespie has served in the following roles: member, National Action Committee on Ocean Mapping; Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee; Management Board for GeoConnections; Board for the Alliance for Marine Remote Sensing; and past president of the Canadian Institute of Geomatics.

Darrell O’Neill is the senior technical officer with innovation, trade and rural development for the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and key provincial representative for marine tech-nology. O’Neill is passionate about the contribution of marine technology in the provincial economy and has participated in the growth of ocean industries in the province for nearly two decades.

Puget SoundThe section hosted 37 student teams at this year’s MATE Pacific Northwest Regional ROV Challenge in May. This was the sec-tion’s fifth year of involvement in the competition, and 24 of this year’s teams were middle-school students in the Scout class. Eleven Ranger class teams (high school and early-college level) competed from Oregon and Washington, and two Explorer class teams were certified from Washington and British Columbia. “What particularly pleases me about this year’s challenge,”

Bill O’Keefe

New NL Section Chair Outlines Regional DirectionsBy Bill O’Keefe, Chair, Newfoundland and Labrador Section

lthough the Newfoundland and Labrador Section was formed only last fall, it became clear immediately that our goals were cen-tered on connectivity, and engaging tech-nology students and contributing to marine technology innovation that was specifically appropriate to Eastern Canada.

Connectivity is about building a sense of community amongst technology providers and

users. Locally, we hope to engage a larger group of technology sup-pliers and users and watch the great ideas spring forth. Interna-tionally, we want to build connections with other marine technology communities to share ideas, opportunities and best practices.

Engaging technology students will be a central aspect of the section. Students have the difficult choice of selecting career paths with little information or experience. Our role is to present the ocean industries and marine technology sector as a chal-lenging environment with competitive compensation packages.

The NL Section will engage the membership to build a con-sensus to define our technological core and establish a regional flavor. The province has a strong ocean and marine technology base, which has been growing since the 1960s. The public sector, private sector and academia are all active participants. Several key technologies have been developed here. As a region, we need to collectively decide where we contribute and how we interact with MTS as a whole. n

explained Rick Rupan, MATE Pacific Northwest ROV Challenge co-chair and a research engineer at the University of Wash-ington, “is how our outreach efforts over the past year have led to a tripling in the number of teams.” With contributions from local ocean engineering and technology company members of the Puget Sound Section, as well as a grant from the National Science Foundation, organizers have conducted three ROV-building workshops for students and teachers. Section Chair Fritz Stahr, MATE Pacific Northwest ROV Challenge co-chair and an oceanographer and ocean instrument manufacturer at the University of Washington, agrees with Rupan. “When we began the regional challenges in 2006, six teams participated. In five years we’ve grown considerably.” The reason for the growth? “Our outreach efforts, for one. But these students, teachers and parents hunger to fill the holes in our education system caused by federal, state and local budget cuts. Without this challenge to students, we risk losing the interest of a generation of potential scientists and engineers.” Last year, the Sea-Tech Explorer team from Mount Vernon, Wash., took second place overall in their division at the international competition in June. This year’s international competition will be in Hilo, Hawaii, so the winning Ranger team will certainly be looking forward to their prize of travel funds. Chair: Fritz Stahr, [email protected]

San DiegoDinner meetings continue to be the focus of section events. The March dinner featured Aaron Thode, associate research scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

TAMU-College StationTexas A&M-College Station seniors were recognized at a meeting hosted by the Texas A&M-College Station Student Section and held jointly in March with the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME). The seniors presented their cap-stone projects to industry leaders who had been invited from the MTS and SNAME Houston professional sections. Capstone classes are broken into two sections: coastal and offshore ocean engi-neering. The coastal section focuses on storm surge suppression

continued on page 10

continued from page 8


Justin Hermeston Casey Hodges Oliver Kleinenberg James Lightfoot Nick Reinsvold Cameron Clopton William Aguirre Jorge Bustamante Andres Chapa Philip Gonzales Colin Dismuke Daniel Lane Jonathan Mock James Adams Matt Galvin Will Lane Jonathan Leon Travis Condit

barrier design for Galveston Bay while the offshore students’ projects focus on designing drillships and floating production, storage and offloading vessels. Both capstone sections allowed the students to break up into design teams with a team leader to oversee the group. At the meeting, team leaders gave the pres-entations and the rest of the team members were on stage to answer questions. After the meeting, the Houston Section pre-sented its Outstanding Engineering Student Award and students were inducted into the Omega Epsilon Honor Society. n

at the George R. Brown Con-vention Center in Houston, Texas. The conference is being managed by the American Asso-ciation of Petroleum Geologists. The program will focus on seven key topical areas: resources; exploration drilling; production drilling, facilities and export; physical enviro-nment; logistics and marine transport; regulatory and envi-ronment; and mining and “others.” June 6 is the deadline to submit presentations.

John G. Bomba, Technip USA, and Kerry Campbell, Fugro GeoConsulting, are the MTS members representing the society on the ATC Tech-nical Program Committee. All inquiries regarding the event may be made to AAPG by con-tacting Steph Benton (exhibits) at [email protected] or Alan Wegener (general) at [email protected].

The first biennial OTC-Brasil will be held in Rio de Janeiro

Congratulations to the following MTS student members at Texas A&M-College Station on the completion of their capstone projects!

Evan Greene Rachel Holder Dominic Marino Stephen Pfiester Jacquelene Allahar Chad Barber Steven Carrell Evan Krueger Jonathan Marshall Cathy Henderson Andrew Wheeler Brandon Faulkner Christopher Johnson Alyssa Baker Brianna Schilling Belynda Alonzo Brian Colman Christifer Harrison

in October next year. Susan Cunningham, 2010 OTC board chair, noted the increasing importance of Brazil in off-shore development: “Sessions about Brazil held at OTC during the past several years have attracted high attendance and generated significant industry interest. We believe that this conference focusing on Brazil as well as other international offshore regions will meet an important industry need.” MTS member Quest Offshore Resources will organize the ex-hibition, while OTC will manage the conference. Quest Offshore Resources has experience in organizing shows in Brazil, including three Subsea Rio shows held in Rio de Janeiro, which will be incorporated into OTC-Brasil in 2011. All inquiries for OTC-Brasil may be sent to John Chadderdon at [email protected].

Web links: www.arctictech-nologyconference.org, www.otcnet.org/pages/general/brazil.html n

Section News


Texas A&M-College Station seniors presented their capstone projects at a meeting co-hosted hosted by the TAMU-College Station Student Section and SNAME’s student section.

New Conferencescontinued from page 1

Consider Giving a Membership in MTS.

FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS! For just $25, you can encourage a graduating high school senior to pursue a career in marine technology by giving him or her access to the MTS Journal, Currents newsletter, networking opportunities, MTS Scholarships and all the other benefits of membership.

FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS! If you know a graduating college student, your $75 gift of membership at the Individual level will help launch the student’s career as a professional member of MTS.

Contact MTS Membership Manager Jeanne Glover [email protected], (410) 884-5330

Looking for the perfect graduation gift?


T

Professional Committees

Cables and ConnectorsThe director of NOAA’s National Weather Service’s National Data Buoy Center, Helmut H. Portmann, has been elected chair of the Cables and Connectors Professional Com-mittee, filling a position that has been vacant for a number of years. Portmann had over 18 years expe-rience in Navy research, devel-opment, test and evaluation at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory before joining

the government. His positions with the Navy have included head of the Customer Advocate Office at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City Division, and the Navy’s technical lead for Expeditionary Warfare Enterprise oversight and deputy product area director for littoral warfare systems. Portmann holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He is the recipient of the Association of Unmanned Vehicles International Pioneer Award for 2004 and the NSWC Panama City Commanding Officer/Executive Director 2003 Guy C. Dilworth Award. In his new position as chair of the committee, Portmann hopes to foster international tech-nical exchange and collaboration among industry, governments and academia “in furthering advances in analytical techniques, modeling, materials testing and engineering design of maritime cables and connector components and systems, and their per-formance-related handling components and systems.” Chair: Helmut Portmann, [email protected]

Marine Law and PolicyMontserrat Gorina-Ysern, Ph.D., has been elected to chair the Marine Law and Policy Professional Committee, replacing Capt. Craig McLean. She holds a bachelor of law and a mas-ter’s degree (maritime law) from the Universities Autonoma de Barcelona and Barcelona, Spain (1979 and 1984 respectively); and a Ph.D. in inter-national law from the University of New South Wales, Australia (1996). Gorina-Ysern began her legal career

32 years ago as an intern at the Port of Barcelona and as a member of the Barcelona Bar in Spain. Her first legal mono-graph on bareboat chartering practices was published in 1986 while she was studying English at the University of Cambridge, England. She has been actively involved in organizations devoted to marine law and policy, such as the Australian Institute of Maritime Studies, Maritime Studies Center of the University of Wollongong (training governments and law enforcement officials from the Asia-Pacific region), the Law of the Sea Institute of the University of Hawaii, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and lately the Advisory Body of Experts on the Law of the Sea of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the U.N. Her book, An International Regime for Marine Scientific Research, is credited by legal scholars and foreign offices worldwide. It is used by various ocean industries, including the Ocean Drilling Program, and serves as a teaching tool at the Rhodes Academy

See Professional Committee News on page 12

he eighth biennial ONR/MTS Buoy Workshop 2010 was held March 9–11 at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, Calif. One hundred and five people from the U.S. and seven other coun-tries (Canada, Australia, China, Korea, Taiwan and several in Europe) participated, and 26 presentations were given in a tight schedule. The presentations were organized under a number of topics focused on the highly specialized technology of oceano-graphic data buoy systems and their components.

Highlights of the speaker program included an update of a mooring workshop held recently at the National Data Buoy Center to improve mooring reliability and survivability of the agency’s large buoy programs, such as the rapidly expanding fleet of buoy systems to monitor tsunami waves in the deep oceans, the wind and waves along the U.S. coastline and Great Lakes, and the El Niño currents along the equatorial Pacific. A number of presen-tations looked at new buoy systems designed to enable specific environmental monitoring tasks like measuring fish abundance; water quality in rivers, lakes and the open seas; coastal ocean gas exchange; ocean currents and waves; whale vocalization; and ocean acidification. There was an overview of oceanographic buoy

Highly Specialized Technology Is Focus of Buoy WorkshopBy Walter Paul, Ph.D.Chair, Buoy Technology Committee

programs in Spain and Great Britain, and in regional U.S. and Canadian waters. A new protocol for automated instrument inte-gration in an experimental instrument buoy observatory deployed offshore Newfoundland, Canada, was presented, and the devel-opment and deployment of coastal mooring platforms for the large NSF-funded Open Ocean Initiative were explored.

The attendees were treated to an elaborate and most inform-ative tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Center, a premier ocean research facility in nearby Moss Landing, and enjoyed a “walking dinner” at the striking Monterey Bay Aquarium with large and small fish swimming patiently and endlessly in the museum’s large center tank and observing the human species’ feeding habits.

Buoy technology has significantly matured and is becoming more manageable, but challenging problems persist in extending service life and expanding useful functions in the unforgiving ocean environment. The buoy workshops, partially supported by the Office of Naval Research and using services of the Marine Technology Society, serve as a useful tool to communicate progress, failures and success to the organizations and people working in this exciting, highly specialized technology. n

Helmut H. Portmann Montserrat Gorina-Ysern


Professional Committees

of International Law (University of Virginia). Her publications record includes biotechnology and intellectual property rights, high seas environmental governance and fisheries conservation regimes, operational oceanography, and the Arctic. Gorina-Ysern held research and teaching positions at Australian and U.S. uni-versities from 1985 to 2004.

She has served as a private consultant to NGOs, private industry, and government clients, including Captain Jones Mari-time Experts, with extensive travels through Central America on projects that included telecommunications, and maritime and port security. She is the founder and director of the Healthy Children–Healthy Oceans Foundation. Since June 2009 she has served as secretary of the MTS Washington, D.C., Section. Communication among members and ways of delivering information effectively are the focus of her goals for the committee. Chair: Montserrat Gorina-Ysern, [email protected]

Ocean Observing SystemsThe committee was represented at several recent ocean observing-related workshops:

In April in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the 2nd Pan American Ocean Observing Symposium was chaired by OOS Committee Co-chair Andrew Clark along with the UNESCO-IOC (Inter-Govern-mental Oceanographic Commission) Chair Javier Valladares. The meeting was held in the grand Palacio de San Martin, headquarters of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and co-sponsored by IEEE-OES, NSF, NOAA and the IOC. On behalf of the president of Argentina, a welcoming address was provided by Dr. Alejandro Cec-catto, minister of science, technology and productive innovation. In addition to the U.S. delegation, leading researchers and policy makers from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and Columbia con-vened to present and discuss major ocean observing initiatives they were planning or conducting and to seek areas of interna-tional collaboration. Among the topics discussed from the U.S. delegation were the OOI (R Weller-WHOI); IOOS (Z Willis-NOAA); OCB-tsunami detection technologies (A Clark-CSnet); Methane hydrate observatory (T McGee-NIUST); and sustained observa-tions in the South Atlantic (G Goni – AOML). Several areas appar-ently ripe for collaboration were the subject of working groups—a particularly promising area being the planned OOI Global Scale Node mooring to be deployed off the coast of Argentina. The pre-vious meeting, held in Vina del Mar, Chile, has already resulted in a memorandum of understanding with a term of five years between the University of Mississippi and the Pontificia Univer-sidad Catolica de Valparaiso to conduct research projects com-paring active seeps in areas of the coastal zone of Chile with gas seeps in the Gulf of Mexico.

Also in April, Ocean Network Canada hosted a NEPTUNE Canada Workshop in Victoria, B.C. The first day of the workshop afforded scientists an opportunity to share preliminary data col-lected on NEPTUNE and offered hands-on time with NEPTUNE’s Web interface. During the second day, working groups delved into details of the current status and discussed what was next for sensors. The third day focused on governance and management, funding and possible expansion options. For example: What kind of science opportunities should be funded with limited money?

What new technologies have emerged that can be integrated into the system? Given a location, footprint and bandwidth, what other applications can be addressed? Questions such as these are germane to all ocean observing systems.

In March, the Second Basic Observation Buoy Workshop (BOB II) was held at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Center for Marine Science, sponsored by NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office, Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association and Centers for Ocean Sciences Educational Excellence-Southeast. The goal of this workshop was to review progress over the year and advance the next generation of BOB design, focusing on sensor instrumentation. Twenty-one workshop participants included sensor manufacturers, high school students, researchers and uni-versity faculty. Participants advanced the BOB concept, outlined the future of small monitoring buoys, and developed regional strategies for outreach.

Also in March, Teledyne-ODI hosted an Oceanographic Inter-connection Workshop in Daytona Beach, Fla. Affiliates from many of the major ocean observatories were present—ALOHA, RSN, MARS, NEPTUNE, VENUS, ESONET, DONET, ANTARES and OCB—along with ROV operators (ROPOS and WHOI’s Jason), and a repre-sentative from the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. The workshop provided a very useful forum for sharing information and lessons learned, and discussing ideas for enhancing products and procedures used to design, produce, deploy and maintain oceanographic systems. During the meeting, MTS OOS Chair Donna Kocak pointed out that the committee was established to be a forum for dissemi-nating this type of information—best practices, standardizations, lessons learned, etc. Kocak is now working with the organizers to plan a similar workshop having a broader topic to be held at an upcoming conference. For more information on any of these work-shops, contact the committee chair. Chair: Donna Kocak, [email protected]

Ocean PollutionJake Sobin, committee chair, is involving the committee in the Science and Engineer Fair on the National Mall on October 23–24. He’ll be joining MTS in a booth aimed at introducing secondary students to marine technology.

The committee is launching a newsletter and is looking for content. Please send the chair information on projects you are working on, suggestions for the committee and content for the newsletter. (See the story on Sobin in Members and Others in the News.) Chair: Jacob Sobin, [email protected]

Remote SensingThe committee is moving ahead rapidly with the creation of two new posters focusing on marine technical applications of both airborne and satellite sensor systems. The posters, which will feature limited advertising space, should be printed and in distribution by early summer. Advertising space on these posters will be sold on a “first come” basis and is sure to attract lots of attention. Proceeds from these posters will be used partially to help fund a one-day RS Committee workshop to be held in spring 2011. For further information, please contact the chair. Chair: Herb Ripley, [email protected] n



See Business News on page 14

Business News

City Joins MTSWelcome to new institutional member the City of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city, located on the coast in the southeast of Newfoundland, and its sur-rounding area are home to 40 MTS individual members and six businesses and institutions, including the city. Web link: www.stjohns.ca

New Name for TycoMTS member Tyco Telecom-munications, a business unit of Tyco Electronics that spe-cializes in undersea communi-cations technology, announced that it is now operating under a new corporate name: Tyco Electronics Subsea Com-munications (TE SubCom). “Our new corporate name enables us to more closely align ourselves with our parent company, Tyco Electronics, and reinforces our commitment to designing, manufacturing, installing and maintaining the premier subsea cable systems across the globe,” said David Coughlan, CEO of TE SubCom. The company’s management team remains unchanged, and TE SubCom maintains the existing company head-quarters, research and development laboratories, manufacturing facilities, ships and depots worldwide. In other news, Unity, a con-sortium of six international companies, together with its suppliers NEC Corporation and TE SubCom have success-fully completed comprehensive end-to-end testing of the Trans-Pacific Unity submarine cable system. The Unity cable system provides direct con-nectivity between Chikura, on the coast near Tokyo, and West Coast network Points-of-Presence in Los Angeles, Palo Alto and San Jose. TE SubCom, Hannon Armstrong Capital and Truestone have completed con-

struction and commissioning of the HANTRU1 Cable System. The system connects Kwajalein in the Republic of the Marshall Islands to Guam, a previously underserved region. Web link: www.tycotelecom.com

Phoenix Site SurveyMTS member Phoenix Interna-tional Holdings successfully completed its support of a his-torical marine archaeological project on the Civil War ship-wreck USS Westfield lying in the Texas City Ship Channel in Galveston Bay. Planned deep-ening of the channel neces-sitated the project. Phoenix provided a detailed site survey of Westfield’s resting place, all diving operations and navigation/positioning services. Phoenix personnel integrated established archaeological approaches and methodologies into its opera-tional procedures for rigging and recovering the larger artifacts of interest, which included a bearing block, firebox and one 10,000-pound Dahlgren cannon. Web link: www.phnx-international.com

Odyssey FinancialsIn March, MTS member OdysseyMarine Exploration reported full year 2009 financial results. Revenues were $4.3 million, compared to $4.1 million in 2008, while oper-ating expenses decreased $6.4 million, from $29.1 million in 2008 to $22.7 million in 2009. The company reported a net loss of $18.6 million for the full year 2009, compared to a net loss of $24.8 million in 2008. The net loss per share for the full year 2009 was $0.33, compared to a net loss per share of $0.50 in 2008. Web link: www.shipwreck.net

Kongsberg Camera SaleMTS member Kongsberg Mar-itime has received orders from Fugro for an extensive

suite of cameras and scanning sonar as part of its Global 2010 ROV sensor refurbishment and newbuild program. The orders include more than 140 high-performance Kongsberg Maritime underwater navi-gation and inspection video cameras, numerous lamps and over 35 Kongsberg Mesotech obstacle avoidance scanning sonar. Further orders are also expected for the newbuild program. Web link: www.km.kongsberg.com

Technip ContractMTS member Technip awarded a contract to Weatherford Pipeline and Specialty Services for precommissioning and com-missioning services on the Jubilee Field Development Project. The contract covers the pigging of production, water and gas injection flow-lines; hydrostatic testing of the flowlines, riser and jumpers; and dewatering of the gas injection system. Web link: www.technip.com

Investing in BrazilChinese energy companies are expected to bid for Brazil’s offshore subsalt oil reserves and buy stakes in existing oil projects, a top energy official said. Auctions for the subsalt reserves had not been scheduled at the time Cur-rents went to press, because the congress is still debating the new rules for companies investing in projects in Brazil. Chinese energy companies looking to invest in subsalt projects include Sinopec, China National Offshore Oil and China National Petroleum, according to Reuters.

Subsea � LaunchThe Seven Pacific, contracted by MTS member Subsea 7 to the IHC Mewede Offshore and Marine division, was success-fully named and launched in

March in The Netherlands. The pipelaying and construction ice-class vessel is capable of installing flexible pipes and umbilicals in water up to 3,000 meters deep. Subsea 7 recently completed the VIC/P44 Stage 2 Development (Henry) Project, offshore Australia, which involved the installation of a 21.7-kilometer-long, 12-inch rigid pipeline to connect the subsea production trees at the Henry-2 and Netherby locations, together with four rigid spool pieces. The project also included the instal-lation of a 22-kilometer-long electro-hydraulic umbilical from Casino-4 to Pecten East locations. Subsea 7 has been awarded an installation con-tract by BP for the Galapagos and Nakika Phase 3 develop-ments in the Gulf of Mexico. Engineering work is being handled at Subsea 7’s Houston office. Installation will take place during late 2010 using Subsea 7’s pipelay and con-struction vessel, the Skandi Neptune. Web link: www.Subsea7.com

O&G’s Good PayOil and gas professionals are better paid than senior staff in nearly every other major industry, and salaries are set to increase this year, according to a new survey. For employees working in subsea and pipe-lines, production management and geoscience were on top, with subsea leading the way on an average of $109,000 a year.

DMT in Chapter 11Deep Marine Technology (DMT) in the U.S., along with its parent company and four sub-sidiaries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2009. As of early April, DMT was evaluating options that would allow it to emerge from bankruptcy.


Business News


Teledyne FloatTeledyne Webb Research, a business unit of Teledyne Technologies, has shipped the 6,000th float designed and manufactured at its Falmouth, Mass., facility. The float—the Autonomous Profiling Explorer—was designed in the late 1980s by company founder Douglas Webb and is widely used by oceanographers to take temperature, salinity and pressure measurements, pro-viding a broad understanding of the world’s oceans and the effects of climate change. Web link: www.webbresearch.com

SOSI’s New WebMTS member Sound Ocean Systems, Inc. (SOSI), has launched a new website, which now employs the latest website content management tools, networking and social media capabilities. The company is already planning its next phase of content expansion, including sections that enable interactive menus from which surfers can select products, construct systems and better communicate with SOSI team members. In other news, Harvey-Lynch, Inc., has been appointed the Gulf Of Mexico sales repre-sentatives for Sound Ocean Systems. Harvey-Lynch will support SOSI with sales and technical support from its 16,000-square-foot Stafford facility south-west of Houston. Web link: www.soundocean.com/home

SAIC BuoyScience Applications Interna-tional Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded a contract for the production and delivery of three SAIC Tsunami Buoy (STB) systems and long-term maintenance services to the Indian National Center for

Ocean Information Services, Ministry of Earth Sciences, in Hyderabad, India. The STB systems will be deployed at locations in the Bay of Bengal and off the northwest coast of India near the Makran sub-duction zone. These systems represent a part of a larger network of tsunami buoy systems that will provide the entire region with critical data to assess the magnitude of tsunamis generated in the Indian Ocean. The eastern Bay of Bengal, one of the most seismically active regions in the world, is near the origin of the Boxing Day mega-tsunami that claimed over 220,000 lives in 2004. Web link: www.saic.com

Nautronix AcquiredNautronix was acquired by SCF Partners in April. The Aberdeen-based Nautronix designs and supplies under-water acoustic systems. SCF Partners is a global private equity firm for energy services investment, headquartered in Houston, Texas, with repre-sentative offices in Calgary and Aberdeen. Mark Patterson continues to be CEO of Nautronix. Web link: www.Nautronix.com

Stable but SlowThe global offshore drilling industry will stabilize this year, but is unlikely to return to growth until 2011, according to a new report by information services group Datamonitor. Following a sharp decline in 2009 caused by flagging energy demand, global drilling is predicted to rise 12 percent during the period 2010-14 compared with the previous five years, said the report. Web ink: www.datamonitor.com

New Turbine InstallerMTS member Converteam has

been selected by shipbuilder Drydocks World SE Asia to supply major elements of pro-pulsion, dynamic positioning and automation systems for a new jack up wind turbine installation vessel. The Gusto MSC designed NG-9000C-HPE wind turbine installation jack up vessel will be the first to feature Converteam’s Dual Active Front End (D-AFE) pro-pulsion system in which each thruster can continue to operate even in the event of a total loss of one entire switch-board. Converteam has been awarded a contract by Fincan-tieri to equip Carnival Dream new sister ship with electric propulsion. Web link: www.converteam.com

Warfare System ContractMTS member Lockheed Martin Sippican, in a joint venture with Granite State Manufac-turing of Manchester, N.H., has been awarded a $14.9 million contract to manufacture the U.S. Navy’s MK 30 MOD 2 Anti-Submarine Warfare Target System. Web link: www.sippican.com

Petrobras to Add RigsAlready the world’s largest off-shore operator by rig count, Petrobras is poised to mate-rially increase its drilling rig fleet this decade. With massive potential in deepwater finds in the pre-salt layer and the Campos and Santos Basins off-shore Brazil, the Brazilian NOC intends to satiate its demand for deepwater rigs through new construction. Web link: www.petrobras.com.br

FPSO EquippedABB has won an order worth more than $60 million from Hyundai Heavy Industries to provide power and automation technologies for an offshore production platform off the northern coast of Norway. The

Goliat oil and gas field is being developed and operated by Eni Norway. A floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), which is currently under construction in South Korea, will be equipped with a complete package of elec-trical, automation, instrumen-tation and telecommunications products and systems from ABB. Web link: www.abb.com

U.K. Wind TurbinesGE has announced plans to invest €110 million to develop offshore wind turbine man-ufacturing facilities and locate design, application and service engineering resources in the United Kingdom. The move will create up to 1,900 new jobs in the U.K by 2020. Siemens expects to tap Brit-ain’s growing demand for off-shore wind turbines and create more than 700 jobs by building a new £80 million production plant in the U.K. By 2020, offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 32 giga-watts will be implemented in the U.K.

DOE Funds PowerBuoyOcean Power Technologies has been awarded $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for the development of its next-generation PowerBuoy wave power system. The group will use the investment to help fund the scale-up of the power output per PowerBuoy from the current level of 150 kilo-watts to 500 kilowatts. Further technology development will focus on increasing the power extraction efficiency as well as building a “design-for-man-ufacture” approach, which aims to achieve lower installed capital and energy costs that are expected to be compet-itive with energy based on fossil fuels. Web link: www.oceanpowertechnologies.com n


Welcome New Members

arizonaEduardo Moreno

CaliforniaAnalisa S. BrownJames FaheyJaclyn K. FowlerJustin HaagTodd R. HallenbeckJeffrey B. JohnsenJohn A. MaloneKenneth MankoffSuzanne C. ManugianSan NguyenMichelle MarcoEve RobinsonMary Young

FloridaMilton BastosMallory A. BondBrendal A. DavisJohn T. HunsuckerViktoria HutterWesley A. PerrineBenjamin PrueittEmily VuxtonMeagan Wise

hawaiiEmilia M. Sogin

IdahoChanna Snyder

KansasIan M. Munoz

IndianaBryan W. Buckingham

LouisianaBilly BergeronNeil FontenotLance Labiche

MassachusettsBallard BlairKylla BenesTrish Hredzak

MainePeter B. StetsonThomas Falby

MississippiAndrea BraatzRyan Vandermeulen

north CarolinaGregory Stratton

new YorkMike AbbruscatoMichael CarielloMichael ChengHampton DixonBen FisherJohn FlemingBradley GellesJohnny GottaNathan HaganJared HarlanCasey Harwood

Chris HooperJustin KlagMichael KleinRichard KimAndrew LachtmanCynthia LandgrenAmanda MalarkeyKyle R. ManisIan McMahonJustin MorganBrent MorrisonLidia MouravieffGerardo NixonJay NonemakerBrian O’TooleChristopher RoseJosh RothmanDon RickersonCullen SarlesLaura WassonSam Waterhouse

OregonWilliam BlackLaura DoverMeredith PayneAndrew PhanMelody Ragsdale

Rhode IslandDaphne S. ForsterSara MacSorley

south CarolinaPatrick Coffey

tennesseeDavid Dailey

texasGlenn AguilarShiv AnandPhilip BlackmarJames R. CarusoBill CashAdrian CastroAndres ChapaMiles B. CharlesworthCameron CloptonCraig ColbyBrian J. ColmanBrittany DonohoKeith EliasBaker GhanimVivek GhoshAdriana GironEvelin GironPhilip GonzalesMarcus E. GonzalezEvan GreeneChristopher HartmanLuke HerranenChase HolubRachel HumphreyDebbie JacksonJason KollatschnyNathan W. KrohnSangwook LeeMark MathiesenJeff Mladenka

Christopher LindangerChunyong NieJoel OgburnKyle J. OuttenRaresh PascaliAustin PoolJulio QuinteroKenny RipkowskiEugene F. RudolphAdam ScheidlerAlbert SchenkelJohn P. SchillingChristina SmithArnold F. ValleJoel VasquezFrank WarnakulasuriyaDaniel A. WrightGordon L. Wilkinson

VirginiaWilliam Richardson

WashingtonByungho MinHeather D. GibbsMercedes G. MillerSam Brockway

Washington, D.C.Ian G. Brosnan

WisconsinRobert R. Szewczuk

austria Rudolf Kirth

BelguimKarel Devos

Brazil Fulvio Chimisso

Canada Justin BrownWaltraud BrueckMarjolaine CastenguayElizabeth LawrenceBill O’KeefeLeslie O’ReillyMark B. PloughmanNeil P. RiggsJoe RyanNathan J. SmithJennifer S. Steele

netherlands Caspar BerendsMatthijs van Leeuwen

norway Vidar ÅhjemArne Lassen-UrdahlTerje Thomassen

singaporeRichard P. Dermody

united KingdomIsabel RidgeKrystle RobsonLisa M. Todd

Chad Matthew BarberB.S., Ocean EngineeringTexas A&M University

Megan BettilyonMasters of Advanced Studies-Marine Biodiversity and ConservationScripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California-San Diego

Lindsay Taylor BonitoB.S., Environmental Systems-Ecology, Behavior, EvolutionUniversity of California-San Diego

Julia Burrows M.S., Marine ScienceSan Jose State University-Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

Catherine Curro CarusoB.A., Biological SciencesWellesley College

Andrés ChapaB.S., Ocean EngineeringTexas A&M University-College Station

Clarice Noel CoteB.S., Ocean EngineeringFlorida Institute of Technology

Trevor DavisBachelor of Business AdministrationUniversity of Houston-Victoria

Kevin EichingerM.S., Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Jacob GenauerB.S., Naval Architecture and Marine EngineeringWebb Institute

Evan GreeneB.S., Ocean EngineeringTexas A&M University-College Station

Elizabeth HartB.S., OceanographyFlorida Institute of Technology

Trish HredzakM.S., ChemistryTufts University

Monica Kerr-RiessB.S., OceanographyUniversity of Washington

Andrew Vincent KrupskiB.S., Ocean EngineeringUniversity of Rhode Island

Morgan MarmittB.S., Ocean EngineeringFlorida Institute of Technology

James Bishop MillerB.S., Ocean EngineeringFlorida Institute of Technology

Robert Andrew MillsM.A., Anthropology and ArchaeologyEast Carolina University

Jacob NgB.S.E., Naval Architecture and Marine EngineeringUniversity of Michigan- Ann Arbor

Paul E. SzempruchB.S., Maritime Systems EngineeringTexas A&M University-Galveston

Simmy WillemannB.S., Naval Architecture and Marine EngineeringWebb Institute

Congratulations to Our Graduating MTS Student Members!


World’s Biggest ReserveThe U.K. has designated the Chagos Islands, a group of 55 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, as the world’s largest marine reserve. The islands and their surrounding waters cover 210,000 square miles, an area larger than California and more than 60 times the size of Yellowstone National Park.

Early Warning WavesAn early warning system for destructive underwater waves has passed its first test in the Andaman Sea, north-west of Sumatra, Indonesia. The system of two buoys is designed to look for solu-tions, powerful pulses that can be triggered at the boundary between layers of dense and less-dense water, often when a step change in the sea’s depth disrupts a tidal flow.

Ocean-Powered RobotNASA, U.S. Navy and university researchers have successfully demonstrated the first robotic underwater vehicle to be powered entirely by natural,

Science & Technology News

renewable, ocean thermal energy. The Sounding Oceano-graphic Lagrangrian Observer Thermal RECharging (SOLO-TREC) autonomous underwater vehicle uses a thermal recharging engine. Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California-San Diego, completed the first threemonths of an ocean endurance test of the prototype vehicle off the coast of Hawaii in March. Key to its operation are the carefully selected waxy sub-stances known as phase-change materials that are contained in 10 external tubes, which house enough material to allow net power generation. As the float surfaces and encounters warm temperatures, the material melts and expands; when it dives and enters cooler waters, the material solidifies and contracts.

Climate-Change SolutionIn an unusual example of the effects of global climate change, rising sea levels in the Bay of Bengal have helped resolve a troublesome terri-torial dispute. A flat muddy patch of land known as South Talpatti in Bangladesh and New Moore Island in India has disappeared under the Bay of Bengal. The landmass had been claimed by both coun-tries but satellite images prove it has gone.

GPS SolutionThis hurricane season, for the first time, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say they will use Global Posi-tioning System technology to measure the dynamics of air-borne moisture far offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and track the fuel available to ramp up tropical systems moving through the Gulf.

Dead-Zone EffectThe increased frequency and intensity of oxygen-deprived “dead zones” along the world’s coasts can negatively impact environmental conditions in far more than just local waters. In the March 12 edition of the journal Science, University of Maryland Center for Environ-mental Science oceanographer Dr. Lou Codispoti explains that the increased amount of nitrous oxide (N2O) produced in low-oxygen (hypoxic) waters can elevate concentrations in the atmosphere, further exacer-bating the impacts of global warming and contributing to ozone holes that cause an increase in human exposure to harmful UV radiation.

ABE Lost at SeaThe pioneering deep-sea exploration robot ABE (for Autonomous Benthic Explorer) was lost at sea on March 5 while on a research expe-dition off the coast of Chile. ABE was one of the first suc-cessful submersible vehicles that was both unmanned and untethered to surface ships. ABE was launched the pre-vious night and had reached the seafloor to begin its 222nd research dive when, in the early hours of the morning, all contact with the surface vessel abruptly ceased. All efforts to reestablish contact failed.

Air-Lube SystemNYK and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have developed an air-lubrication system to reduce CO2 emissions during marine transport. The system reduces the frictional resistance between a vessel’s bottom and the seawater by means of bubbles generated by supplying air to the vessel’s bottom. The installation of the system using an air-blower is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 10 percent.

Robot InspectorStudents at Missouri University of Science and Technology have built a remote-con-trolled robot for inspecting the interior of structures that is equipped with an infrared camera and LIDAR (light detection and ranging) tech-nology, which sends out mul-tiple laser points that bounce off objects and provide feedback. The LIDAR-equipped robot then wirelessly relays detailed images to a laptop computer.

Ubiquitous BPA A survey conducted at Nihon University in Japan of 200 sites in 20 countries around the world has found that bisphenol A, a synthetic com-pound that mimics estrogen and is linked to develop-mental disorders, is ubiquitous in Earth’s oceans. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is found mostly in shatter-proof plastics and epoxy resins. Most people have trace amounts in their bodies, likely absorbed from food containers. Its hormone-mimicking properties make it a potent endocrine system disruptor.

3D MonitorThe U.K. South West Regional Development Agency has awarded a £50,000 grant to Bristol-based Imetrum to develop a 3D system that will monitor movement of struc-tures such as buildings and bridges. Using real-time digital-video processing, it will give engineers a better knowledge of the way struc-tures behave and move when a load is applied. It will also measure the effects of dif-ferent environmental condi-tions, for example wind and temperature.

See Science & Tech on page 17

In a paper published March 10 in the journal Science, a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers used data from long-term observations of physical properties and biological communities to conclude that previously documented physical changes in the Arctic in recent years are profoundly affecting Arctic life. Above, a conductivity, temperature, depth sensor is deployed by researchers on the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy.

Currents M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 0 1�

Education News

W hat effect does a scholar-ship have on a student? Can it mean more than a check to the bursar’s office or a drop in tuition?

For MTS member Thomas Wilcox, it did. In 1995, Wilcox was an ocean engineering major at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) when he was selected to be the first recipient of the ROV Committee Scholarship. The ROV Com-mittee, under the leadership of Chair Drew Michel, flew him to the Underwater Intervention Conference where Scholar-ship Committee Chair Chuck Richards presented him with a check for $2,500 and a plaque at the awards luncheon.

“I was on the FAU basket-ball team, but was not talented enough to earn an athletic scholarship, so it helped a lot,” Wilcox said in an interview recently.

Attending the conference was a big part of the expe-rience, Wilcox said. “Walking the exhibit floor and attending the technical sessions was real eye-opening. I had the oppor-tunity to sit next to Doug Stroud at the awards lunch, someone I had already been reading about in magazines. The entire experience was very motivating, prompting me to submit a student poster two years later to the MTS/IEEE OCEANS show in Miami.”

A 1995 ROV Scholarship that Gave More than TuitionWilcox had decided to

attend FAU and major in ocean engineering with an emphasis in acoustics so he could follow in his father’s footsteps; Marty Wilcox is a pioneer in both the medical ultrasound and side scan sonar fields. In accepting the 1995 scholarship, Thom Wilcox said he was “interested in designing and developing tools that ocean scientists and engineers need to further study the deep ocean….” Wilcox has managed to fulfill that dream in his career. After college, he worked at his father’s company, Marine Sonic Technology, for 12 years, developing high-res-olution, low-power side scan sonar devices for manned and

unmanned platforms before moving to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems where he works in the field of sensor integration on mobile and autonomous systems.

Throughout his professional career, Wilcox has continued his membership in MTS, never forgetting to renew. “My MTS membership has been very beneficial” he said, adding that he has encouraged his employers and others to donate to the scholarship fund, because he knows how important scholarships are to the students who are fortunate enough to receive them. n

Science & Techcontinued from page 16

Acoustic LeapResearchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have developed two advanced broadband acoustic systems that they believe could rep-resent the acoustic equivalent of the leap from black-and-white television to high-definition color TV. For oceanographers, this could mean a major upgrade in their ability to count and classify fish and to pinpoint tiny zoo-plankton amid seas of turbu-lence. The work is described in the International Council for Exploration of the Sea Journal of Marine Science. The new instruments measure sound scattering over a continuous range of frequencies, gen-erating broadband acoustic spectra. A method called “pulse compression” decreases the noise of the signal com-pared to that of traditional echosounders, increasing the distance at which organisms can be detected. The same

advanced processing also improves range resolution, bringing the acoustic images into sharp focus so that closely spaced organisms can be distinguished.

Climate ChangeA three-year field program now underway is measuring carbon distributions and primary pro-ductivity in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to help scientists determine the impacts of a changing climate on ocean biology and biogeochemistry. The study, Climate Variability on the East Coast, will also help validate ocean color sat-ellite measurements and refine biogeochemistry models of ocean processes. Researchers from NOAA, NASA and Old Dominion University are col-laborating through an existing NOAA Fisheries Service field program, the Ecosystem Moni-toring or EcoMon program. The EcoMon surveys are conducted six times each year by the North-east Fisheries Science Center at 120 randomly selected sta-tions throughout the conti-

nental shelf and slope of the northeastern U.S., from Cape Hatteras, N.C., into Canadian waters to cover all of Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.

Bad Climate FixFertilizing the oceans with iron to absorb carbon dioxide could increase concentrations of a chemical that can kill marine mammals, a study has found. Iron stimulates growth of marine algae that absorb CO2 from the air, and has been touted as a “climate fix.” Now researchers have shown that the algae increase production of a nerve poison that can kill mammals and birds. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they say this raises “serious concern” over the idea. The toxin—domoic acid—first came to notice in the late 1980s as the cause of amnesiac shellfish poisoning. It is produced by algae of the genus Pseu-donitzschia, with concentra-tions rising rapidly when the algae bloom. Now, its presence in seawater often requires the

suspension of shell fishing operations and is regu-larly implicated in deaths of animals such as sea lions.

Fooling OctopusesResearchers from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science found that by playing videos on a liquid crystal high-definition television for octopuses (Octopus tetricus), they could accurately see how the animals reacted to prey (a crab), a new object (a jar), and a potential predator (another octopus), responses usually only seen in the ocean. Observations reveal that that the individual octopuses have episodic personalities, according to details of the study published in The Journal of Experimental Biology. Octopuses have very sophisticated eye-sight, making everyday mirrors or videos, controllable tools that could help biologists see how the animals interact with their surroundings, ineffective in a lab. New display technol-ogies, however, make movies look more realistic.See Science & Tech on page 19


Resources News

Listen to the SeaThe Discovery of Sound in the Sea Project introduces the science and uses of underwater sound and provides easy access to timely peer-reviewed content on the effects of underwater sound on marine animals. Web link: www.dosits.org

Ultra-Deep PlanThe “2010 Annual Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater and Uncon-ventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program” at the Department of Energy is available. Web link: management.energy.gov/FOIA/1480.htm

GOM AssessmentA National Environmental Policy Act-related, Site-Spe-cific Environmental Assess-ments and Findings of No Significant Impact, prepared by the Minerals Management Service, is available for spe-cific oil-, gas- and mineral-related activities proposed for the Gulf of Mexico. The

Federal Register lists the areas and provides addi-tional information. Web link: edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-7335.pdf

Arctic Web SiteNOAA’s new Arctic Future Web site shows that changes in the Arctic can also influence weather in the mid-latitudes where a large part of the global human population lives. The site brings together easy-to-understand, cause-and-effect graphics with links to the scientific literature that backs up the statements. Web link: www.arctic.noaa.gov/future

IODP 31�The preliminary report from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 317—Canterbury Basin Sea Level—is available online. The Canterbury Basin Expe-dition sailed in November and December to understand the relative importance of global sea level versus local tectonic and sedimentary processes in

controlling continental margin sedimentary cycles. Web link: publications.iodp.org/prelim-inary_report/317/index.html

Small Biz, Big EffectSmall businesses have a big effect on research and devel-opment in the U.S. Read a study by the National Science Foundation to find out more. Web link: www.nsf.gov/sta-tistics/infbrief/nsf10304/?WT.mc_id=USNSF_178

R&D Patterns“National Patterns of R&D Re-sources” describes and analyzes the current patterns of research and development in the United States, with comparison to the historical record and the reported R&D levels of other industrialized countries. Web link: www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10314/pdf/nsf10314.pdf

IODP 32�IODP has released the scien-tific prospectus for Expedition 328, Cascadia Subduction Zone Advanced CORK Observ-

atory. In September, Expe-dition 328 will install a new, permanent hydrologic observatory at ODP Site 889. Web link: publications.iodp.org/scientific_prospectus/328

Workshop ReportThe report from the Scientific Ocean Drilling of Mid-Ocean Ridge and Ridge-Flank Set-tings Workshop is now online. The workshop was held last August in Austin, Texas. Web link: www.oceanleadership.org/usssp/mor

NMPA Mapping ToolNOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center has created a new interactive online mapping tool that, for the first time, allows users to view boundaries and access data for more than a thousand marine protected areas in the United States. Web link: www.oceanleadership.org/2010/noaa-launches-interactive-marine-protected-areas-mapping-tool n

FY11 USCG BudgetThe Obama Administration is requesting $9.6 billion for the Coast Guard in fiscal year 2011, less than in 2010. “There is no way to sugar coat what the impact of these proposed cuts would be: they will reduce the capacity of the Coast Guard to carry out its missions,” according to Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, chair of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The proposed budget includes $1.4 billion to continue the Coast Guard’s recapitalization efforts, including $538 million for a fifth National Security Cutter and $254 million for the Faster Response Cutter program to replace the aging Island Class patrol boats. But the budget proposes to cut funding for the Coast Guard’s port security and search-and-rescue missions.

EPA on Acid OceanThe Environmental Protection Agency is exploring whether to use the Clean Water Act to control greenhouse gas emissions, which are turning the oceans acidic at a rate that has alarmed some scientists. The water in the deep Pacific Ocean is already more acidic than shallower water is because it has absorbed

Legislative News

the carbon dioxide that is produced as animals and plants decompose. Some of the deep water in the Pacific has not been to the surface for 1,000 or more years. By the end of the century, that deep water is expected to be 150 percent more acidic than it is now, and as it is brought to the surface by upwelling, it is exposed to even more carbon dioxide. “The immensity of the problem on the West Coast is of serious concern,” said Richard Feely, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmos-pheric Administration in Seattle.

Education BillThe U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3644 in March. The bill would authorize $145.7 million over the next five years for the Environmental Literacy Grant Program and the Bay Watershed Education and Training Program. The bill would create a 10 percent annual increase in authorized funding for the pro-grams over the next five years. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), the bill’s sponsor, said the programs had a successful track record and defended the authorization increases as modest. Current demand for the education funding greatly outstrips the amount provided, she said. n


Ocean Community Calendar

JUNE 6–1129th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic EngineeringShanghai, Chinawww.omae2010.com

June 8–9Mts techsurge WorkshopOcean Observing: thinking Outside the Basinnorfolk, Va.www.mtsociety.org/conferences/OceanObserving2010.aspx

JUNE 8–10Undersea Defense Technology ConferenceHamburg, Germanywww.udt-europe.com

JUNE 8–10EnergyOceanFt. Lauderdale, Fla.www.energyocean.com

JUNE 9Forum on Earth Observations IVWashington, D.C.alliance.strategies.org

JUNE 13–16The Coastal Society’s 22nd International ConferenceShifting Shorelines: Adapting to the FutureWilmington, North Carolinawww.thecoastalsociety.org/conference/tcs22

JUNE 14–18ASME Turbo Expo 2009Glasgow, Scotlandwww.asmeconferences.org/TE010

JUNE 15–17Sustainable Ocean SummitReducing Risk, Increasing Sustainability: Solutions Through CollaborationBelfast, Irelandwww.oceancouncil.org/site/pdfs/SOS_General_22-10-09.pdf

JUNE 20–25Marine Biotechnology: Future ChallengesAcquafredda di Maratea, Italywww.esf.org/conferences/10330

JUNE 21–23Canadian Hydrographic ConferenceQuebec, Canadawww.chc2010.ca

JUNE 22–24MAST AmericasWashington, D.C.www.mastamericas.com

JUNE 30–JULY 1International Wave Energy SummitLondon, U.K.www.waveenergytoday.com

JULY 18–23National Marine Educators Association ConferenceGatlinburg, Tenn.www.nmeaweb.org

JULY 29–30Marine Technology and Standards WorkshopWashington, D.C.www.uscg.mil/marine_event

AUGUST 24–27AUVSI 2010Denver, Colo.www.auvsi.org/events

SEPTEMBER 1–3Submarine Networks World 2010Singaporewww.terrapinn.com/2010/submarine sePteMBeR 20–23OCeans’10 Mts/Ieee seattle Conferenceseattle, Wash.www.oceans10mtsieeeseattle.org

OCTOBER 4–9Underwater Mining Institute: Toward the Sustainabel Development of Marine Minerals: Geological,Technological and Economic AspectsGelendzhik, Russiawww.underwatermining.org

OCtOBeR 12–13Dynamic Positioning Conferencehouston, texaswww.dynamic-positioning.com

OCtOBeR 14–16techno-Ocean 2010Kobe, Japanwww.techno-ocean2010.com

OCTOBER 19–21European Future Energy ForumLondon, U.K.www.europeanfutureenergyforum.com

OCTOBER 19–20Clean Gulf 2010Tampa, Fla.www.cleangulf.org

NOVEMBER 22nd Annual New England Marine Renewable Energy Center Technical ConferenceCambridge, Massachusettswww.mrec.umassd.edu/2010technicalconference.php

NOVEMBER 2–4Offshore Communications 2010Houston, Texaswww.offshorecoms.com

NOVEMBER 2–5Hydro 2010Warnemunde, Germanywww.hydro2010.com

NOVEMBER 3–5Sustainable Ocean Energy and the Marine EnvironmentPalm Beach Gardens, Fla.www.ces.fau.edu/conferences/coet

NOVEMBER 3–5WaterSide Security 2010Marina di Carrara, Italywww.wss2010.org

NOVEMBER 8–9Sustainable Innovation 2010Rotterdam, The Netherlandswww.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd15

DECEMBER 8–10International Maritime Expo-China 2010Guangzhou, Chinawww.maritimeshows.com/china/2010

NOVEMBER 9–11Subsea Survey IRMGalveston, Texaswww.subseasurvey.com

FeBRuaRY 7–9, 2011actic technology Conferencehouston, texaswww.arctictechnologyconference.org

FeBRuaRY 22–24, 2011underwater Intervention 2011new Orleans, La.www.underwaterinterventioin.com

Quieter TurbinesControlled rubber flaps could help make wind turbines less noisy and generate more energy. Researchers would use a control system that relies on information from embedded sensors to direct the movement of the flaps. These sensors would detect local wind conditions along the blade. Many wind turbines currently have pitched blades that control load as they turn. These pitched blades reduce loads by 25 to 30 percent com-pared with no pitch at all, but the addition of article flaps could increase that figure to 40 percent or more.

Tsunami MachineA wave-generating machine that mimics the activity of real-life tsunamis with unprec-edented realism has been used successfully in an Oxford-

shire laboratory. The simu-lator has copied the behavior of the first massive wave of the 2004 tsunami. Improved understanding of how tsu-namis behave will aid the development of more effective evacuation guidelines and also help improve the design of buildings in susceptible areas.

Artificial SensorClever as a blind fish, the underwater robot Snookie can orient itself in murky water with an artificial sensory organ inspired by the so-called lateral-line system found in fish and some amphibians. The experimental vehicle was developed by researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen. In the future, the researchers expect such capabilities to enable under-water robots to work autono-mously in operations ranging from deep sea exploration to inspection of sewer pipes. n

Science & Techcontinued from page 17

Marine Technology Society, Inc.5565 sterrett Place, suite 108Columbia, MD 21044

Change Services Requested

NON-PrOFiT Org.U.S. POSTAgE

PaIDBALTiMOrE, MDPErMiT NO. 7499

The international, interdisciplinary society devoted to ocean and marine engineering, science, and policy.

The Rising Tide: A Special Issue of Student-Authored ManuscriptsMarch/April 2010, Volume ��, Number 2Once again, the Journal showcases the work of the next generation of marine technology professionals. Several articles focus on AUVs, including model and control methods, a novel approach to biological pump sampling, propulsion methods for long-range AUVs, and visual-based navigation of an autonomous surface vehicle; another paper addresses a new method for generating continuously surfable waves. A general paper on a remote, still-photography system for benthic sampling rounds out the issue.

Coming Next ...

Sustainable U.S. Marine Aquaculture Expansion in the 21st CenturyMay/June 2010, Volume ��, Number 3.Experts in the field address key topics concerning marine aquaculture development, with emphasis on potential for exclusive-economic-zone use for sustainable farming. Papers in this issue reflect the recent national dialogue over large-scale farming of the ocean environment, including current status of aquaculture science and practice, where the industry needs to go in the next 20 years, and major issues and obstacles that need to be resolved to promote sustainable and successful aquaculture in the future.

OnlineNow!

may-june 2010 - marine technology society

Documents