August President's Message

Have you voted? I have! Voting for our next President Elect; Vice President for Early Career Ocean Professionals; Vice President for Government and Public Affairs; and Vice President of Education is open through 5:00 p.m. EST on October 18, 2022. This is your opportunity to shape the future of MTS.   

Welcome aboard to Claire Idell, our new Director of Member Engagement. I know that Claire has begun reaching out to our members, and I am very excited that she has joined the MTS team. Read more about Claire on the MTS staff page.

In early August, I had the pleasure of serving on an international expert review panel for the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). Through their work in ocean monitoring, exploration, and science across all of Australia, AIMS has become a global leader on coral reef restoration. During the panel,  AIMS expressed the need for specialized reef-monitoring technologies that are both highly agile and spatially aware, so as not to damage corals. Further, these platforms and instruments must be adapted to work in tropical waters. In addition to the great scientific work that AIMS is engaged in, they are developing a new program called ReefWorks – Australia’s Tropical Marine Technology Test Range. Learn more about the program here.

MTS has a busy fall ahead. We begin September with the 30th annual MTS/Oceaneering Symposium – and its ever-popular crabfest – co-hosted by the MTS Technology Forum and MTS and Oceaneering. Following the symposium, I will moderate the opening panel at “Discover Global Markets – The Blue Economy,” part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s flagship event series for U.S. exporters.  Registration for the event is still open. The following  week is the 14th MTS Buoy Workshop. Come discuss buoy-related work and projects with your colleagues. We finish September with Lakebed 2030, which brings science and research, policy, government, and industry professionals together to focus on high-resolution mapping and bathymetry data in the Great Lakes. While Lakebed 2030 began as an MTS TechSurge, it has since grown into an international partnership with GLOS and NOAA. 

October will continue at the same pace. Kicking of the month, I will represent MTS at the Economist Impact’s World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit, hosted by Canada’s Ocean Supercluster in collaboration with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Partnership. We are excited to soon be back with the community at MTS/OES OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads, which will feature MTS’ new EMERGE program; an oceanside chat with Don Walsh along with Dr. Eddie Widder and Dr. Mandy Joye, the 2020 and 2022 recipients of the CAPT Don Walsh Award for Exploration; wide-ranging town halls; the Walter Munk Scholar Award Commemorative Lecture; and engaging speakers that will include NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnik, Chief of Naval research RDML Selby, and WHOI Senior Scientist and Associate Director for Research Strategies Dr. Carol Ann Clayson. Rounding out October, MTS’ President Elect and VP for Communications and Publications will participate in, and serve as judges for, Ocean Exchange’s 11th annual event. The event hosts finalists and collegiate-level finalists for the WW Orcelle® Award, the Neptune Award, and the new Innovation Award for Transportation and Logistics Hubs. 

Zdenka Willis
President, MTS

 
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