Program At a Glance
October 5
Unpacking the Future of Oceans
12:00 pm Opening Remarks
12:10 pm NSF Convergence Accelerator
12:15 pm Plenary Session
1:30 pm Convergence Session I:
Harnessing the Power of Data & People
2:05 pm Convergence Session II:
Exploring & Mapping Unseen Worlds
2:48 pm Convergence Session III:
Connecting the Ocean
3:20 pm Convergence Session IV:
From Protection to Sustainable Utilization
3:55 pm Closing Remarks
October 7
All Hands on Deck
12:00 pm Opening Remarks
12:10 pm Convergence Workshop I
Real-time, High-Resolution, and Large-Scale Observations
1:25 pm Convergence Workshop II
Emerging Industries & Sustainable Utilization
2:40 pm Convergence Workshop III
Exploration via Novel Imaging, Navigation & Sensing Tools
3:55 pm Convergence Workshop IV
Social Engagement & Policy Interventions
October 9
The Future is Now
12:00 pm Announcement of Competition winners
12:30 pm Debrief: The Big Ocean Challenges
1:00 pm Debrief: The Path Forward
1:30 pm Closing Remarks
Day One: Unpacking the Future of Oceans
Monday, October 5, 2020
12:00 pm | Opening Remarks by Fadel Adib (MIT) & Seth Zippel (WHOI)
12:10 pm | NSF Convergence Accelerator
12:15 pm | Plenary Session
”Driving Convergence in Ocean Science”
Peter de Menocal | President, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
“Activating the Smart Ocean”
Margaret Leinen | Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography & Dean, School of Marine Sciences, University of California San Diego
“The Evolution of a Paradigm”
Bob Ballard | President, Ocean Exploration Trust & Director, Institute for Archeological Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
“Geospatial as an Accelerator of Impact”
Dawn Wright | Chief Scientist, Environmental Research Systems Institute (ESRI)
1:30 pm | Convergence Session I
Harnessing the Power of Data & People
Followed by Live Q&A
“Making Game-Changing Air-Sea Interaction Observations for 2030”
Meghan Cronin
Oceanographer, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA
“Making Ocean Data Useful”
Ryan Abernathey
Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
“eOceans: Towards Collaborative, Transparent, Real-Time Marine Science”
Christine Ward-Paige
Chief Executive Officer, eOceans
“SeaAhead: Venture Innovation for the Ocean”
Alissa Peterson
Co-Founder & Executive Director, SeaAhead
“SEAS Islands Alliance: Expanding Opportunities for Islands Students in the Ocean Sciences”
Kristin Wilson-Grimes
Research Assistant Professor, University of the Virgin Islands
2:05 pm | Convergence Session II
Exploring and Mapping Unseen Worlds
Followed by Live Q&A
“Technologies for Studying Biological Phenomena in Deep Sea”
Kakani Katija
Principal Engineer, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
“Deep-Sea Mining”
Thomas Peacock
Associate Professor & Director, Environmental Dynamics Laboratory (ENDLab), MIT
“Meeting the Challenges of 4D Oceanography with Vehicle Swarms and Sensors”
Jules Jaffe
Research Oceanographer, Marine Physical Laboratory
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.
“National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring and Characterizing the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone”
Amanda Netburn
Oceanographer, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, NOAA
“Autonomous Operations for an Ocean Worlds Submersible “
Andrew Branch
Technical Staff, Artificial Intelligence Group, Planning and Execution Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
2:48 pm | Convergence Session III
Connecting the Ocean
Followed by Live Q&A
“The Moana Project's Te Tiro Moana (Eyes on the Sea): Fishing Gear as an Ocean Observing Platform in New Zealand “
Julie Jakoboski
Data Scientist, MetOcean Solutions
“Basic Infrastructure for Future Ocean: SMART Cables and Acoustic Network”
Bruce Howe
Research Professor, University of Hawaii
CELESTE: Community Environment for Learning Eco-Science via Testbed Experiments
Bishal Thapa | Research Scientist, Raytheon Technologies
Helen Scott | Staff Scientist, Raytheon Technologies
“Ocean Sensing At Scale “
Ryan Kastner
Professor, University of California San Diego
3:20 pm | Convergence Session IV
From Protection to Sustainable Utilization
Followed by Live Q&A
“A Moonshot for Coral Reefs: Using Conservation Technologies to Save Coral Reefs”
David Kline
Staff Scientist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
“Pacific Marine Energy Center”
Shana Hirsch
Associate Director, University of Washington Division, Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC)
“What is Needed to Deploy and Scale Direct Ocean Capture?”
Brendan Carter | Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington
Matthew Eisaman | Assistant Professor, Stony Brook University
“Channelized Optical System (CHANOS): An In-situ Sensor Technology for High-resolution Measurements of Seawater CO2 Parameters”
Zhaohui 'Aleck' Wang
Associate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
“Offshore Aquaculture”
Michael S Triantafyllou
William I. Koch Professor of Marine Technology; Professor of Mechanical and Ocean Engineering; Associate Head for Ocean Engineering, MIT
Day Two: All Hands on Deck
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Day two will feature series and parallel workshopping sessions in small breakout groups covering different topics under the following themes.
12:00 pm | Opening Remarks
12:10 pm | Real-time, High-Resolution, and Large-Scale Observations (Technology Lens)
1:10 pm | Break
1:25 pm | Emerging Industries & Sustainable Utilization (Industry Lens)
2:25 pm | Break
2:40 pm | Exploration via Novel Imaging, Navigation & Sensing Tools (Science Lens)
3:40 pm | Break
3:55 pm | Social Engagement & Policy Interventions (Human Lens)
Day Three: The Future is Now
Friday, October 9, 2020
12:00 pm | Announcement of Competition winners
12:30 pm | Debrief: The Big Ocean Challenges
1:00 pm | Debrief: The Path Forward
1:30 pm | Closing Remarks
