Office of Naval Research engages international partners at OCEANS 2011

June 9th, 2011

The Office of Naval Research's Global (ONR Global) department joined the international scientific community at OCEANS 11 IEEE Santander Conference from June 6-9 in Spain to exchange ideas and support student participation to develop future experts in marine technology.

"The topics covered in technical sessions and the commercial technologies on display directly relate to three naval science and technology strategic plan focus areas," said Dr. Ellen Livingston, an ONR Global associate director, who shared information with visitors at the conference.

In her role, Livingston promotes collaboration with international scientists, serving as a chief of naval research science ambassador. With offices in Washington, D.C., London, Prague, Tokyo, Singapore and Santiago, Chile, ONR Global pursues international partnerships with organizations conducting basic and early applied research.

Sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) Oceanic Engineering Society, the annual conference promotes scientific and technical advances in marine technology, ocean sciences and engineering. The conference theme, "Oceans of Energy for a Sustainable Future," covers a wide range of marine-related topics, including underwater acoustics and signal processing; air/ocean surface remote sensing; marine environment, oceanography and meteorology; marine and coastal law policy, management and education; and ocean vehicles and floating structures.

Beyond international collaboration, the event is an avenue for ONR to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. ONR Global co-sponsored approximately 15 university and graduate students to attend the conference and compete in a poster presentation. Winners were selected at the conference.

"Being at OCEANS in Spain is important to ONR because it provides us with opportunities to identify good ideas, develop and grow international partnerships and collaborate with the best and brightest in academia and industry," Livingston said. "Student participation is particularly valuable for the Navy in these scientific disciplines—the ocean sciences and engineering—because the students who are successful in these areas will provide the future Navy expertise."

Provided by Office of Naval Research