Wednesday, June 7^th 7.30-9.00
Location: Room EG010, Main Building

Dr. Christoph Waldmann

Dr. Christoph Waldmann holds a degree in Physics from Kiel University, Germany, and a Ph.D. from the same University. His primary area of expertise lies in the development and evaluation of new methods for ocean observation and the assessment of the physical and chemical parameters collected in coastal and deep-sea environments. In particular, he has been engaged in the evaluation of new measuring systems for long-term deployments and observing strategies making use of robotic platforms. Starting with the involvement in several EU funded projects, he got engaged in the development of standards and best practices for ocean technologies and scientific data to address interoperability issues embracing the entire range starting at the level of data acquisition all the way up to standardized data services like web services.

Dr Asma Khatoon

Asma Khatoon is a Research Fellow with the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the University of Limerick, Ireland. She holds a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University of Galway, Ireland. She has previously worked as a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow within University of Galway, Lero and MaREI. Asma has vast experience working in the consumer electronics industry and academia. She has also worked with University College Dublin and Insight Center for data analytics. Her research interest includes, CE Devices, Internet of Things, Embedded systems, Energy Systems, E-Health, AI, Computer Vision, Machine learning and Blockchain technology. Her current research is in the area of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) using advanced robotics, machine vision and artificial intelligence for the identification and sorting of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Nuno Cruz

Nuno holds an MSc. in Digital Systems Engineering from UMIST, UK, and a PhD. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Porto, in Portugal. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto and coordinates the Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems at INESC TEC. The Center has over 80 researchers, mostly dedicated to marine robotic systems. Nuno Cruz is a Senior Member of the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society, an Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, and the elected chair of the Portuguese Chapter of OES. He has over 100 publications in journals and proceedings of international conferences. He has been involved in the development and deployment of marine robotic vehicles for more than 25 years, under the scope of multiple national and international projects, as well as industry contracts. He has led the design of multiple autonomous vehicles at the University of Porto and INESC TEC, namely the Zarco and Gama ASVs and the MARES, TriMARES and DART AUVs. His current research interests include the development of strategies for the efficient use of autonomous vehicles at sea, including the concept of adaptive sampling.

Mandar Chitre
Head of the Acoustic Research Laboratory (ARL) at the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI)

Mandar Chitre is currently the Head of the Acoustic Research Laboratory (ARL) at the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) in Singapore. He is also an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National University of Singapore (NUS), and one of the co-founders of Subnero Pte Ltd. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering. Mandar’s research interests include underwater acoustic communications & networking, ocean acoustics, signal processing & machine learning, and collaborative underwater robotics. He was awarded the Distinguished Technical Achievement Award by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society in 2020 for his work on underwater communications & networking. Apart from his academic interests, Mandar has a strong passion for computing & software development, and considers theoretical physics a hobby. He also enjoys photography, scuba diving, cold places, seriously hot chilies, good wine, strange beers, and a game of contract bridge.