As we discussed in our first blog in this series, supporting education and academia is an important part of our business here at Sonardyne. Championing research in ocean science and the marine environment through the sponsorship of PhD programmes and the use of our products within them plays an important part in the future of the marine environment.
One such sponsored student is Nairn Spence who is studying for a PhD in Distributed, Intelligent Underwater Sensor Networks for the generation of improved ocean data at the School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh. Nairn has a degree in Marine Science and a Masters in Aquaculture but chose to focus on the physics and engineering aspects of marine science for his PhD.
The three and a half year research programme, which started in December 2023, is co-funded by Sonardyne and the University of Edinburgh and is using our Origin Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to develop an underwater communications and data network delivering real time data to the surface.
Our sponsorship gives students access to the latest marine technology and a wealth of experience from our staff. Nairn explains why he chose to apply for the programme; “I chose this PhD because of the hands-on engineering opportunities it offers, rather than just desk-based research. I can also see the benefits in what this research will lead to – for just one example, a real time data network could be used on a tidal turbine site where the data could be used to adjust the turbines according to tidal flow information gathered by the ADCP. My end goal is to be part of producing better sensing tools to improve the offshore economy. Whether this is for renewables, defence or anywhere that needs improved access to high resolution subsea data.”
The programme will also give him the practical engineering skills to work in future projects. Nairn will spend some of his time at our testing facility in Plymouth working on deployments and sea trials. One of Nairn’s academic supervisors on the programme is Tom Culverhouse, our Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling Group Manager. Nairn says of him, “He’s like Father Christmas, he brings me all the cool toys to play with! He also has a wealth of knowledge and experience that I can gain from throughout my studies.”
Nairn’s supervisor at the University of Edinburgh, Dr Brian Sellar, who has worked with us on field trials of our new products in offshore renewable energy settings, described the value of this partnership: “Working with the experts at Sonardyne is enabling us to be more ambitious in our research whilst at the same time reducing risk in designing and deploying next-generation marine sensor systems to meet current and predicted data needs of a range of offshore activities.”
Sponsorship of academic programmes and students also benefits us as a business, as Tom Culverhouse explains: “The future of the marine industry rests with young people, and through sponsorship of this PhD Sonardyne is proud to continue our heritage of supporting the next generation of marine scientists and engineers. Nairn is an outstanding early-career researcher, and we are excited to help bring his ideas to life, seeding the innovation that will drive future products and services.”
We also sponsor other PhD students and work closely with several academic institutions in the UK and the USA. Keep a look out for further academic feature articles on our website and social media.