July Executive Director's Message

When MTS was launched in 1963, the founders set up a system of geographical sections and topical committees for members to self-select into. One can imagine they saw this structure as a mechanism to coalesce the diverse and growing membership around areas of interest—to support the small group interactions and conversation needed to move the landscape of marine technology forward.

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New England Section Elects New Leadership

New England Section Elects New Leadership

The New England Section held elections for the section officer positions and we are pleased to welcome the following section officers:

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June President's Message

Message from MTS President

As I write this note, the world has converged in Lisbon, Portugal for the UN Ocean Conference. Co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, it is an important event that highlights the importance of the world coming together for global ocean action. MTS has published its second UN Decade focused UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development which is open access – check it out on the MTS website.

Let me start by echoing Chris’, MTS Executive Director, congratulations for Past President Drew Michel’s OTC Distinguished Achievement Award. A well-deserved honor! Thank you to our MTS Houston section for all their efforts at OTC. It was great to see many folks in person and we look forward to next year as OTC rebounds to pre-pandemic levels.

Earlier this month Chris, Jim Hanlon (VP Industry, Technology and Research and Halifax local) and Justin Manley (President Elect) represented MTS at the H2O Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Including 600+ delegates from more than two dozen nations, the conference highlights the growing and vibrant Canadian marine technology ecosystem and explores cross-cutting technology topics of key interest to the community, including offshore energy, environmental monitoring, and marine transportation. The Ocean Technology Council of Nova Scotia (OTCNS) hosts the annual event; MTS and IEEE/OES are working closely with OTCNS leadership to explore a partnership in the fall of 2024 when OCEANS returns to Halifax.

The marine technology ecosystem in Halifax continues to deliver impact across Atlantic Canada and beyond; anchored by the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE), Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, Dalhousie University, and dozens of companies and non-governmental organizations. MTS members in the region have taken the initial steps to re-activate the Halifax section and we are excited to see the groundswell of interest, from students, early career ocean professionals, and established members of the field in supporting the marine technology ecosystem in Nova Scotia.

Since my last column I would like to welcome the 100+ new students, individuals, and ECOPs from Oceans in Action and OCEANS in Chennai. Also welcome aboard to our new business members:







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Attention Students: Register for MTS Summer Camps - Scholarships Available

We are partnering with Rutgers University to offer summer camp experiences for undergraduate and high school students. The Marine Technology Camps offer students a chance to learn about several technologies and to deploy equipment to gather data applied to various investigations. Scholarships are available for the camps. Complete the form HERE

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OTC Is Next Week, 2-5 May

 

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MTS Welcomes New Member Terradepth

 

 

This month, MTS welcomes new Small Business member Terradepth. The company’s mission is to increase human interaction with the ocean by sending high-tech autonomous submersibles further than ever before. According to its website, “Immersive, virtual marine information can assist with projects in sectors such as global telecom, clean energy, national security and many more. By turning Earth’s oceans into an immersive and accurate virtual world, we can connect humanity with the last unexplored frontier on our planet.”



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MTS 2022 Award Nominations Due May 31

 


Nominations for 2022 MTS Awards are now open. Award applications are due by May 31, 2022 and can be submitted online HERE.

Learn more about the awards HERE. The awards include:
Compass Distinguished Achievement Award, Compass International Award, Compass Industrial Award, John P. Craven Mentor Award, Walter Munk Scholar Award and Commemorative Lecture, Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration, Lockheed Martin Award for Ocean Science and Engineering, Ocean News and Technology Young Professional Award, MTS Fellow, MTS Outstanding Service Award, MTS Outstanding Section Award, MTS Outstanding Committee Award, MTS Outstanding Student Section Award, and the MTS Special Commendation and Award.



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MTS 2022 Board of Directors Nominations

There are four positions open for the 2022 MTS Board Elections: President-Elect, Vice President of Early Career Ocean Professionals, Vice President of Education, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs. MTS members may nominate candidates for the open positions through 11:59 p.m. EST on June 15, 2022. 


Submit your nominations HERE

MTS India Sponsors ROV Challenge at Aligarh Muslim University

 

Team ‘PLUZ ULTRAZ’ from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology and ‘Team Hustlers’ from the Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology (ZHCET), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were declared the joint winners of the ‘Aligarh Muslim University Remotely Operated Vehicles Challenge’ AMUROVc, a national level underwater robotics challenge, an event of Marine Technology Society and Aligarh Muslim University, which was organized by the MTS AUV-ZHCET student section in collaboration with IEEE Student Branch of AMU.

They received certificates and cash prizes of Rs 20, 000 each from Prof. Pervez Mustajab, Dean, Faculty of Engg. & Tech. One-year free MTS student membership will also be given to five members of the winning teams from MTS India Section. Siddhant Vajpayee (Founder and CEO of Andromeidia), Anuj Batra (Co-founder, Andromeidia), Thomas (Chief Robotics Engineer, Andromeidia) and Dr Azhar Jamil (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, AMU) were the judges of the competition.  Members of the Team ‘BIT-MAL-ROV’ from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology collected a cash prize of Rs 10, 000 and a certificate for finishing second in the contest.  Team DTU AUV (Delhi Technological University, Delhi) was awarded by Andromeidia Wonder Sub award for being the most technically equipped vehicle. 

MTS Puget Sound Holds Presentation and Networking Dinner Event with SOI

Eric King of Schmidt Ocean Institute shares information about SOI's ship RV Falkor (too) at a MTS Puget Sound section event at University of Washington on April 21. Does your section have news to share? Submit photos and information to [email protected]

Training Opportunities at OCEANS 2023 Gulf Coast

 


Attention ECOPs – Your Input Needed!
 

We need your help in gauging interest in variety of training topics offered at OCEANS 2023 Gulf Coast.

Complete the survey HERE to vote for seminars of interest to you and your career. Full-day, half-day, and 2-hour seminars on various topics will be available. This survey is anonymous and should only take 5-10 minutes to complete.


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MTS & Ocean Exchange Partner Again for Engaging with the Blue Economy Webinar Series

The next Blue Economy webcasts will take place on June 29 (Offshore Winds), September 28 and December 14. Each event features one or more established industry experts and an innovative new entrant. 


The series kicked off with a focus on “Shipping Decarbonization” on March 30 from 11 am – 12 pm (EDT), featuring Andrew Moffat, Office of Global Change, U.S. Department of State; Natalia Mykhalova, Co-founder and CEO of WeavAir; and David Cummins, President of the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition. Dain Dunston once again emceed the webcast.




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Women Leadership Webinar

 

On April 13, MTS held a webinar in its Women Leadership Series. This webinar addressed Wage Gap issues in STEM fields. Dr. Jackie Bichsel, College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR); Dr. Andrea Liebl, University of South Dakota; Dr. Sarah Small, Rutgers University; and Dr. Zoe Spencer, Virginia State University discussed these issues with webinar guests and Liesl Hotaling, Vice President, Publications & Communications, Marine Technology Society, moderated the session. A recording of the webinar is HERE.

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Early-Career Research Fellowship Applications Now Open

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, have opened the 2022-2024 Application Cycle, the Environmental Protection and Stewardship track goal focuses on advancing scientific knowledge and its application to predict and prepare for ecosystem changes in the Gulf of Mexico and its coastal zones as the region navigates a changing climate and energy transition. The Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellowship supports emerging scientific leaders by providing relatively unrestricted funds as they take risks on research ideas not yet tested, pursue unique collaborations, and build a network of colleagues who share their interest in improving the well-being of the Gulf of Mexico region.

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April Legislative Update

 

The seventh Our Ocean Conference – hosted by the Republic of Palau and the United States –brought together governments and non-state actors to make concrete commitments to protect ocean health and security.  The United States announced more than 110 commitments, from 14 agencies and offices, worth nearly $2.64 billion.  These commitments spanned the issue areas of the conference, including climate change, sustainable fisheries, sustainable blue economies, marine protected areas, maritime security, and marine pollution.

A detailed listing of the 110 commitments is listed here: United States Announces Commitments at Seventh Our Ocean Conference - United States Department of State

American Blue Economy Podcast - April 2022

American Blue Economy Podcast - Project Recover: How blue tech helps locate and recover fallen U.S. service members lost at sea 

 

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SeaState, Season 3, Episode 4 Podcast

SeaState Season 3, Episode 4: Jack Rowley: Unmanned Technology for Defense & Security

This entertaining and educational podcast covers a broad range of topics and features a leading line-up of industry experts as guests. Jack Rowley, Chief Technology Officer for Maritime Tactical Systems Incorporated, discusses unmanned technology for defense and security.
LISTEN HERE

Register for the Buoy Workshop - Early Bird Registration Ends May 31

 

ENDORSED AS AN UN DECADE EVENT!

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS MAY 31!
REGISTER TODAY

CALL FOR SPEAKERS & REGISTRATION 
TRAVEL INFORMATION HERE

Virtual & In-Person Workshop with Option to Present Virtually


Join us September 19-22, 2022 for the MTS Buoy Workshop, a UN Decade endorsed event. The conference theme is "Moored Systems for the Future Buoy and Mooring System Developments and Advancements to Address the Needs of a Changing World". The event will be held at The University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Coastal Ocean Research & Monitoring Program (CORMP).









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MTS President's Letter - April

Last month you heard from our new Executive Director Chris Ostrander. Let me also welcome him aboard. With Chris’ background I am confident he is the right individual to lead MTS as we navigate in new directions. Thank you to Justin Manley, President Elect, who led the extensive selection process.   Justin convened the first panel made up of a subset of the Board and Kristina Norman (acting Director during the interim) to down select the candidates to the top three. The top three candidates then interviewed with a panel comprised of Justin, Kristina and the remainder of the Board. Kristina led the interview of each of the candidates with the MTS HQ team. The top three candidates had one-on-one interviews with three MTS members in leadership positions. Thank you to Laurie Jugan, Fernando Hernandez and Larry Hagstrom for their assistances. The full board then reviewed the results of the 2 panels, the staff interviews, and the one-on-one interviews. The board did not come to a decision as all of the candidates were highly competitive. The board prepared an additional set of topics to discuss with the candidates. To address the topics, Justin conducted another conversation with each of the candidates.  Justin also talked with 3 references for each candidate – a superior, a peer and a subordinate.  The board met a second time and, after considering all the information, selected Chris.  My sincere appreciation to the highly competitive candidates who applied; Justin’s leadership; and the efforts of Kristina, the Board, Laurie, Fernando and Larry.   

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Seeking Community Input: Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research

This May, The National Academies is holding a workshop and seeking input on technologies to develop and advance Antarctic Research. New and improved technologies can help advance, expand, and transform Antarctic research, by providing opportunities to carry out research more efficiently, safely and reliably, and over a greater spatial/temporal range, while minimizing costs and environmental impacts. In this activity, a workshop will be organized to solicit insights and ideas from within and beyond the Antarctic research community, regarding opportunities for technological advances related to: observing systems for geological, biological, atmospheric, cryospheric, oceanic environments;  astronomy, astrophysics, space weather research sensors;  data and communications technologies;  electronics, batteries, and power systems for cold-weather environments; and robotics and autonomous instrument engineering.

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