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:

• Liquid Robotics (Silver)
• MITRE (Institutional)
• Ocean Aero (Small Business)
• UAM Tec (Small Business)

We will announce our 2022 award winners soon! I sincerely appreciate all of you who took the time to nominate individuals, organizations and companies. We had a robust and strong slate which made it hard for our awards boards – a great challenge to have. We administer three awards boards: MTS Awards board; CAPT Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration– joint board with SUT; and the Walter Munk Scholar Award – joint board with the Water Munk Foundation. We can not run these boards without volunteers and my thanks to all of you who responded positively when we asked you to volunteer. We look for a diverse awards board each year so please let us know if you are interested in serving in 2023. Now looking forward we have a strong slate of events. First up is the next in the Women Leadership in Technology and Science webinar series which will cover Woman’s Issues in the Field – July 13 – Please register here. In September MTS will host two events and participate in a third event. The 14th buoy workshop will take place Sept 19-22, in Wilmington North Carolina, register here. The next Lakebed 2030 conference will be held September 28-30 in Traverse City, Michigan as well as being virtual. Abstracts due: July 1; Sponsorship due: July 1. I have been asked to participate at the U.S. Commercial Service’s business forum, Discover Global Markets: The Blue Economy” September 20 – 22, 2022, in Providence, RI.

In October we will return to Hampton Roads, VA for OCEANS2022. The LOC is working hard to put together a great conference so please pass the word and we hope to see many of the community in October. Join us from 17-20 October.

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

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.

Fellowship Benefits: An award of $76,000 is paid to each fellow’s institution in the form of a two-year grant. Funds cannot be used on institutional overhead or indirect charges. Research funding: $75,000 is available for the fellow to use for research-related expenses, including equipment purchases, professional travel, professional development courses, trainee support, salary, or any other costs directly related to the fellow’s research. Mentor honorarium: The remaining $1,000 of the award serves as an honorarium for a mentor. Applicants must identify a senior-level researcher at their affiliated institution willing to serve as a career mentor. 

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM ET May 4, 2022

MORE INFO & APPLY HERE

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.   

Awards

Over the past few years SUT and MTS have begun work to strengthen our collaboration with the goal of enhancing services and benefits to our members. You’ve likely seen the early outcomes of that collaboration—shared publications between the Societies, offering of professional certifications for marine technologists and marine scientists, and launch of the joint Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration. 

To support further enhancement of services to the collective membership and to help secure greater visibility for both Societies within the global marine science and technology community, MTS and SUT have entered into a formal Contractual Joint Venture agreement. The agreement solidifies existing collaborations and sets a framework for continued collaboration and partnership, in concert with the individual governance of both societies.

Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research A Workshop | National Academies