Appendix A
Committee and Staff Biographies
COMMITTEE CHAIR
George Frisk is a senior scientist in the Ocean Acoustics Laboratory in the Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering (AOPE) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. From 1992 to 1997, he was chair of the AOPE department. He is the author of a textbook on ocean and seabed acoustics and has supervised or cosupervised 18 graduate students in the MIT/WHOI Joint Graduate Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering. His research interests include acoustic propagation, reflection, and scattering in the ocean and seabed, acoustic surface waves, scattering theory of waves, computational physics, inverse methods, seismoacoustic ambient noise, and Arctic acoustics and are funded primarily through the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Frisk is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Sigma Xi.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
David Bradley is a senior research scientist at the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State University. His research is focused on environmental acoustics; in particular, he conducts research in acoustic radiation, propagation, scattering, reflection, absorption, and natural/man-made noise analysis, including spatial and temporal fluctuations. His research is funded in part by the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Bradley is a former member of
the Ocean Studies Board and chaired the steering committee for the Sixth Symposium on Tactical Oceanography.
Jack Caldwell is a geophysical manager with WesternGeco in Houston, Texas. Dr. Caldwell is a leader in the geophysical services industry with regard to environmental issues related to marine seismic surveys. He was a member of the Minerals Management Service’s High Energy Seismic Survey team, through which he has worked with numerous government agencies, the oil and gas industry, and the environmental communities on issues related to marine mammals and sound from industry seismic sources.
Gerald D’Spain is an associate research geophysicist at the Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Among Dr. D’Spain’s research interests are ambient noise in the ocean and biological sounds, including marine mammal vocalizations and fish choruses and synthetic apertures in the ocean. His work is largely funded by the Office of Naval Research.
Jonathan Gordon is an honorary lecturer at the University of St. Andrews. His research has focused on cetacean acoustics, in particular, communication and echolocation in sperm whales, developing practical passive acoustic techniques in cetacean conservation (e.g., censusing, measuring length, assessing behavior), and studying and helping to mitigate the effects of man-made noise in marine mammals. Recent work includes studies on the effects of oceanographic and seismic sources on cetaceans and working with Birmingham Research University and Shell UK to develop more effective mitigation procedures for seismic surveys based on passive acoustic monitoring.
Mardi Hastings resigned from the committee in 2002 to accept a position at the Office of Naval Research. Prior to this position, she was an associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at the Ohio State University. Her major research interests include acoustics and vibrations, guided wave transmission, marine bioacoustics, and ultrasonics. Dr. Hastings is a registered professional engineer and member of several professional organizations, including the Acoustical Society of America, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Institute of Noise Control Engineering. She received the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation and the Lumley Research Award from Ohio State and is listed in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. She was elected to be a fellow of the ASA in 1996.
Darlene Ketten holds a joint appointment as a senior scientist in biology at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and as an assistant pro
fessor of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the sensory mechanisms of marine organisms, three-dimensional imaging and modeling of structural adaptations of aquatic vertebrates, underwater acoustics, underwater hearing, and diagnostic radiology of trauma and diseases of auditory systems. She receives research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research, the Seaver Foundation, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Dr. Ketten is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.
James Miller is a professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Miller’s research interests lie in underwater acoustics, tomography, and sonar. He has been at the forefront in the application of acoustic tomography imaging techniques in coastal waters and has studied the effects of shallow water on the performance of sonars. Recently, Dr. Miller has been particularly interested in mapping ocean-bottom properties using nonlinear tomographic techniques. He is investigating the use of high-frequency sonars for whale ship-strike avoidance. He has also investigated the effects of low-frequency underwater sound on marine mammals and divers.
Daniel L. Nelson is a senior program manager in the Physical Sciences Business Unit of BBN Technologies, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has more than 30 years of experience in marine acoustics research, development, and consulting including 15 years as the manager of BBN’s Marine Acoustics and Mechanical Systems Department. Dr. Nelson is responsible for formulating approaches to solving complex marine acoustics problems, structuring the efforts necessary to implement these approaches, and overseeing all technical and managerial aspects of project planning and implementation. His primary areas of expertise include the measurement, analysis, prediction, and control of the underwater-radiated noise of ships and boats.
Arthur N. Popper is a professor in the Department of Biology and is director of the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on understanding the basic structure and function of the auditory system in vertebrates, with particular interest in the ear of fishes and their sensory hair cells. Dr. Popper served on the Ocean Studies Board Committee on Low-Frequency Sound and Marine Mammals and was chair of the Committee to Review Results of the Acoustic Thermometry of the Ocean Climate’s Marine Mammal Research Program. Dr. Popper is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Acoustical Society of America. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, and he is the coeditor of the
Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, a series of over 20 books on the hearing sciences.
Douglas Wartzok is the vice-provost for academic affairs and dean of the University Graduate School of Florida International University. Dr. Wartzok served as the associate vice-chancellor for research, dean of the graduate school, and professor of biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for 10 years. For the past 30 years, his research has focused on sensory systems of marine mammals and the development of new techniques to study these animals and their use of sensory systems in their natural environment. He and his colleagues have developed acoustic tracking systems for studying seals and radio and satellite tracking systems for studying whales. For eight years he edited Marine Mammal Science and is now editor emeritus.
STAFF
Jennifer Merrill, Study Director, received her Ph.D. in marine and estuarine environmental science from the University of Maryland in 1999. A former NOAA Sea Grant Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy fellow, she is now a program officer with the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council. In addition to this study, she directs a study of the feasibility of a coordinated international ocean exploration program and managed a workshop examining the future of marine biotechnology in the United States.
Julie Pulley, Project Assistant, received her B.S. in biology from Howard University in 1999. She has been with the Ocean Studies Board since 2001.