Distinguished Lecturers

Distinguished Lecturers

The following OES members (Drs. Yuh and Nunziata) have been appointed as the latest Distinguished Lecturers (DLs) for the period 2023-25. The Chapters and Student Branch Chapters are highly encouraged to take advantage of their expertise and get enriched from their experience in related fields. The DLs may work directly with the relevant groups and fix the date and time of their lectures. Keep the VP for Technical Activities informed once a lecture has been finalized. DLs are advised to announce their availability and topics for lectures on OES website. DLs can be advertised through IEEE eNotices, Beacon Newsletter and Earthzine magazine. Please provide details of the talk to VPTA who would help to publicize this through various social media channels.

Request for OES Distinguished Lecturers Nominations

Distinguished Lecture – John Potter- 21 September

James V. Candy

2021-2024

UC-LLNL, Livermore, CA
tsoftware@aol.com
Endorsed by the Signal Processing and Statistical Learning * (SPSL) Technology Committee.

Biography of James V. Candy

Topics:
Model-based acoutstic signal processing (underwater,ultrasonics, room)
Nonlinear filtering: Particle filters, Kalman filters
Time-reversal signal processing
Radioactive Contraband Detection: a Bayesian Approach
Bayseian Signal Processing, an Overview of Particle Filtering Methods

 

Maurizio Migliaccio

2021-2024

Universit à di Napoli Parthenope – Italy
migliaccio@uniparthenope.it
Endorsed by the OES Ocean Remote Sensing Technology Committee.

Biography of Maurizio Migliaccio

Topics:
Synthetic Aperture Radar for oil spill observation
Wind speed estimation by synthetic aperture radar
Man-made targets at sea, observation by polarimetric SAR

 

Kenneth Foote

2021-2024

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
kfoote@whoi.edu
Endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics (UA) Technology Committee.

Biography of Kenneth Foote

Topics:
Underwater sound scattering
Marine resource quantification
Sonar performance evaluation

 

 

Mandar Chitre

2022-2025

Mandar is an Assoc. Professor at National University of Singapore. He is a Senior Member of IEEE (OES) and Editor in Chief of the Journal of Oceanic Engineering (JoE). Mandar has expertise and experience in many areas of underwater acoustics such as underwater communications, signal processing, especially in non-gaussian environments and marine robotics. He has given talks in many international conferences and forums including UN. IEEE OES community will be highly benefited from the sharing of his knowledge and perspectives in the areas of his expertise through DLs. His nomination was endorsed by the Underwater Communications, Navigation and Positioning Committee, of which he is also a Co-Chair.

 

 

Nicholas P Chotiros: 

2022-2025

Nick is a Visiting Fellow at the UK National Oceanographic Center, Southampton His nomination was endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics Technology Committee. He had worked as a Research Associate and Lecturer at University of Birmingham and has been working as a Research Scientist at the Applied Research Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin. He has also served as a Program Officer at the Office of Naval Research Global. He is a senior member of IEEE (OES) and a Fellow of Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Nick has also been serving as Assoc. Editor for IEEE JoE and JASA. He is widely acknowledged for his expertise are seabed acoustics, parametric array modeling, sonar beamformer, underwater signal processing.

 

 

Shyam Madhusudhana

2022-2025

Shyam has 16 years of research experience spread across both industry and academia. Data science and machine learning in the field of marine bioacoustics is relatively new and is an emerging area of research. The appointment of Shyam as a DL will help to excite the OES members, especially the student community, and coach them to be proficient in this emerging field of research. Shyam is an IEEE (OES) Senior Member and is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, USA. He serves as a reviewer for reputed journals such as Journal of Ocean Engineering, JASA, Applied Acoustics, etc. He has been endorsed by the Data Analytics, Integration and Modeling (DAIMS) Committee. Data Science and Machine Learning as applied to marine bioacoustics, Automation and modeling are some of the areas Shyam has the expertise on and will be offered as part of his DLs.

 

Eliza Michalopoulou

2022-2025

Eliza has been with the New Jersey Institute of Technology since 1994 and currently a Professor there. She is also the Chair of Department of Math-Science. She is a senior member of IEEE (OES) and a Fellow of ASA. She also has been an Assoc. Editor for Journal of Acoustical Society of America (JASA) and IEEE OES. Her nomination was endorsed by the Underwater Acoustics Committee. Inversion problems, sediment characterisation, multi-path localisation, etc., are some of the areas where Eliza has her expertise and proposes to give her DLs.

 

Milica Stojanovic

2022-2025

Boston, MA
millitsa@ece.neu.edu
Endorsed by the Underwater Communication, Navigation, & Positioning (UNCP) Technology Committee.

Biography of Milica Stojanovic

Topics:
Signal processing for acoustic communications
Multi-carrier modulation/detection for acoustic channels
Statistical characterization of underwater acoustic communication channels
Multiple access in underwater acoustic systems
Reliable transmission over acoustic channels

 

 

Dr. Ferdinando Nunziata

2023-2025

Ferdinando Nunziata is an Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope Centro Direzionale Isola, Naples, Italy. He had also held positions like Visiting Scientist at the Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark and Guest Professor at the Shanghai Ocean University, College of Marine Science, Shanghai, China. Ferdinando has widely published his work both in international conferences and journals. He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of OES since 2016. He serves as a reviewer for international journals and has been serving as session chair for many international conferences.

Ferdinando can give talks on the following topics:

  1. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for coastal observation and
  2. Microwave radiometer for coastal applications

 

 

Dr. Junku Yuh

2023-2025

Junku Yuh is currently the President of Korea Institute of Robotics and Technology Convergence (KIRO). He is an IEEE Fellow who has held many coveted positions such as Founding Director, Robotics and Media Institute, Korea; Head of Lunar Exploration National Programme, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST); President, Korea Aerospace University etc. During 1996-2004 he also served as Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hawaii.  He has won many international awards, served as keynote and plenary speaker for both national and international conferences.

Topics:

Adaptive Control and Neural-Net Control
Advanced Sensor for Automatic Object Ranging
Adaptive Path Planning
Intelligent Navigation and Guidance
Underwater Robotic Arm Control
Design of Autonomous Underwater Robots
Intelligent Task-Oriented Control Architecture
Virtual Collaborative World Simulator
Macro/Micro Control of Smart Space Structures
Predictive Virtual Environment
Design and Control of Flexible Structures
Let us welcome them into our pool of Distinguished Lecturers and look forward to hearing exciting technical talks.

 

Itzik Klein

2024-2026

Itzik Klein is an Assistant Professor, heading the Autonomous Navigation and Sensor Fusion Lab, at the Charney School of Marine Sciences, Hatter Department of Marine Technologies, University of Haifa. He is an IEEE Senior Member and a member of the IEEE Journal of Indoor and Seamless Positioning and Navigation (J-ISPIN) Editorial Board. Prior to joining the University of Haifa, he worked at leading companies in Israel on navigation topics for more than 15 years. He has a wide range of experience in navigation systems and sensor fusion from both industry and academic perspectives. His research interests lie in the intersection of artificial intelligence with inertial sensing, sensor fusion, and autonomous underwater vehicles.

Topics:

  • Autonomous underwater vehicle navigation
  • Deep inertial sensing for marine robotics
  • Data-driven approaches for AUV navigation

 

John R. Potter

2024-2026

John R. Potter (IEEE M’94, SM’02, F’18) graduated in the previous century with a joint honours Mathematics and Physics Degree from Bristol and a PhD. in Glaciology and Oceanography from Cambridge, UK studying Antarctic ice mass balance, where he spent four consecutive summers. This work helped underscore the non-linear fragility of polar ice to climate change and led to him receiving the Polar Medal from Queen Elizabeth II in 1988.

Dr. Potter has 45 years’ experience in marine and glaciological research, holding academic University positions (NUS, NTNU), research institute roles (BAS, SIO, NUS, NTNU) and NATO research and senior management positions (Saclant ASW Centre, NURC, CMRE) across Europe, the US and Asia. He is now a Full Professor at NTNU in Norway. His scientific specialisations are glaciology, polar oceanography, acoustics, ambient noise, marine mammals, autonomous vehicles, machine intelligence, communications, distributed sensing networks, ocean advocacy and environmental conservation.

Frustrated by two decades of failure to promote ecosystem and climate awareness, in 2004 he took a 14-month ‘seabbatical’ with his family to circumnavigate the Indian Ocean by sailboat on a sponsored voyage of research, public outreach and education with a focus on the increasing degradation of the marine environment and mankind’s failed stewardship of this unique and beautiful blue planet.

Dr. Potter has 10 years’ experience facilitating, coaching & training personal performance & leadership skills, change-management, team building, relationship management & corporate strategy. Dr. Potter co-founded the Tropical Marine Science Institute and Founded the Acoustic Research Laboratory in the National University of Singapore, leading it from inception, through growth, to a sustainable internationally-recognized centre of excellence.

Dr. Potter has ~170 peer-reviewed publications with ~3400 citations, h-index = 26, i10-index = 66. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and MTS, International Fellow of the Explorers Club, Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, Lifetime Member Marine Mammal Society, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, TDI Nitrox and ECC Rebreather Diver and sometime General Aviation Pilot (Gliders and Gyrocopters).

It is no longer true that he neither owns nor operates a television.

Topics:

  • Integrating the Internet of Underwater Things into the bigger picture of 6G – from Seabed to Space.
  • Distributed Acoustic Sensing in the ocean – opportunities and synergies

 

Mohd Rizal Arshad

2024-2026

Mohd Rizal Arshad is a full professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia, where he specializes in ocean robotics technology and intelligent system. He received his B.Eng. in Medical Electronics & Instrumentation and PhD in Electronic Engineering from University of Liverpool, UK in 1994 and 1999, respectively. He completed his MSc. in Electronic Control Engineering from the University of Salford, UK in Dec 1995. He has supervised many postgraduate students and published extensively in local and international publications. He is a senior member of the IEEE, and was awarded IEEE OES Presidential Award in 2019.

Topics:

  • Novel marine robotics platform
  • Intelligent system & methods
  • Robust sensor design

 

Peng Ren

2024-2026

Peng Ren is a full professor with the College of Oceanography and Space Informatics, China University of Petroleum (East China). He is the director of Qingdao International Research Center for Intelligent Forecast and Detection of Oceanic Catastrophes. He received the K. M. Scott Prize from the University of York, the Natural Science award (first rank) from China Institute of Electronics, and the Eduardo Caianiello Best Student Paper Award from 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing as one co-author. He has served as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

Topics:

  • Underwater Imaging with Machine Learning
  • Ocean Remote Sensing and Forecast with Machine Learning

 

Suleman Mazhar

2024-2026

Suleman Mazhar has been working as a professor in Information & Communication Engineering at Harbin Engineering University (China) since July 2019. He did PhD from Tokyo University (Japan) and postdoctorate from Georgetown University (Washington DC, USA). He had BS-CS from FAST-NUCES (Lahore) and MS from GIK Institute (Pakistan). He is TYSP young scientist fellow (Ministry of Science & Technology China) and have won several research grants from international organizations such as DAAD (Germany), ICIMOD (Nepal), NRPU (Higher Education Commission Pakistan), WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) Pakistan. His research focus is deep learning and signal processing applications for environmental monitoring, with particular focus on underwater acoustics, and marine mammal conservation. He is a reviewer for professional journals such as Journal of Acoustical Society (America), IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Sensors Journal, Applied Acoustics, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Topics:

  • Pros/cons and common pitfalls of machine/deep learning approaches for bioacoustics for marine conservation and underwater communication
  • Basics of underwater acoustics & communication and demonstrations of underwater acoustic/communication applications