Hydrographers, coastal managers, software engineers, environmental researchers, hydropower planners, data scientists, … – The speakers’ diverse educational and professional background mirror the multi-disciplinary approach of the Water Days.
A Chartered Marine Scientist, Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, and Fellow of the Society for Underwater Technology, Steve has worked in global ocean science, technology and policy for +thirty years. He’s an expert in the fields of sustained ocean observing, marine autonomous systems, policy, industry liaison and outreach. He led the International Office at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, served as a tsunami warning national point of contact, and as a policy advisor before moving into the private sector in 2017 as CEO for the Society for Underwater Technology, and later as CEO Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum and Marine Energy Wales. He also created the ‘Underwater Technology Podcast’ … Read more about Steve and Seabed2030 here.
Kevin is a Marine Geologist based at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand, where he currently has the role of Center Head for the South and West Pacific Ocean Data Center of The Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Seabed 2030 project.
Kevin has worked on the collection, processing and management of bathymetric data. He was involved in more than 20 expeditions, ranging from the tropical Pacific to the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Over this time, he has authored 15 bathymetric charts and maps. Kevin is the New Zealand delegate for the International Oceanographic data and Information Exchange (IODE) Committee of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and is a member of the GEBCO Sub-Committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN).
In 2017, Kevin was presented with an Award of Merit for Scientific and Technical Achievement from the Australasian Hydrographic Society.
After graduating in Geophysics (majoring in Marine Geophysics) from the University of Hamburg in 1988, Manfred started his professional career as system operator on board the German research vessel “FS Meteor”. This included the support of different geophysical and hydrographic equipment and the consultation of the embarked science groups in their use.
After three years on board and a change to shore, further appointments as Sales and Service manager as well as Project Manager in the market area Oceanography / Geophysics / Meteorology followed before Manfred joined OSAE GmbH (later Fugro Germany Marine GmbH) in 2000.
20 years with the company followed, thereof 13 years as Operations Manager and Project Manager. Manfred currently works as Business Development Manager and Senior Survey Consultant. With his rich experience in Hydrography and applied innovations Manfred will present on the topic: “Drones – extremely high-resolution seabed mapping”.
Knut leads the team of a highly skilled team delivering geospatial data services. He has the interdisciplinary education and relevant work experience to support clients’ geospatial demands across a range of industries. Prior to joining EOMAP in 2011, he was geodata analyst at an engineering firm and researcher at a Federal Research Centre. He holds a PhD in environmental science and has received academic awards for excellence as well as the EU Copernicus Masters award. Knut chairs the SDB Best practice group.
Philip holds a Master’s degree in Coastal Engineering from Queen’s University, Canada and over 25 years of professional experience in consulting throughout the Caribbean and North America. He has design, inspection, and appraisal experience for coastal protection, marine structures and oceanographic studies, in addition to the development and operation of numerous civil, structural, coastal and hydraulic engineering computer programs and numerical models. He also has field experience in marine structures construction supervision and inspection, hydrographic surveys and the deployment of oceanographic field equipment. His experience includes work done throughout the Caribbean region and internationally.
After concluding his Master’s program in Hydrography at the HafenCity University in Hamburg, Idris is now working at the SevenCs/ChartWorld group. Idris is an SDB enthusiast and attended the maiden edition of the SDB Day event here in Herrsching back in 2018. He has a keen mind for crucial matters around the maritime sector, especially navigation and safety. Idris is interested in alternative methods of mapping like SDB, to provide supplementary information for Nautical Charts and improve navigational safety. On SDB Day 2022, he will be presenting about the CIO+ Stay Away area service from ChartWorld, a service that uses satellite observations to detect shoals from space.
Mona is a specialist in satellite-derived bathymetry. At EOMAP since 2020, she works as an EO Data Analyst within a number of commercial and R&D projects around the globe. Supported by a team of physicists and IT experts, she is responsible for the implementation, development and supervision of SDB-Online. Mona has provided training on the new WebApp globally and serves as point of contact for technical and related matters. She holds a Master’s degree in Geography from Munich University.
Born in Trinidad & Tobago, he was introduced to the tropical waters of the Caribbean from birth. His love of the sea led him to pursue an education in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering at the University of Florida. He has amassed 25 years of experience working on coastal development from inception, modelling, design and construction across the globe, with particular experience in projects within the Caribbean. Edward was first introduced to EOMAP in 2015, and has applied EOMAP’s services to many projects since. It transformed his approach to data and information gathering for his projects, in particular in uncharted, remote or inaccessible locations.
He holds a diploma in Geology and a PhD in Paleontology/Biology.
An Irish civil engineer with a specialisation in renewable energy and energy management, Declan has worked in diverse sectors all through his career to date; he has participated in green financing projects and ISO 50001 energy audits, demolition & asbestos removal projects, regulation of radioactive waste transport as well as flood protection design, geothermal and hydropower projects. He has also managed projects where the subject has been of an innovative nature such as in-pipe turbine technology. At Gruner, he is head of Innovation & Technology for the Hydropower and Dams business unit where he investigates new technologies and if applicable pilots the implementation of the technology and ensures its integration into the workflow.
After studies of Chemistry at the Universities of Mainz, Amherst, Massachusetts and at the Max-Planck-Insitute for Polymere Research in Mainz, Christoph accomplished his PhD in 2006 with a focus on polymer science and spectroscopy. From 2007 to 2013, he held various R&D positions in the chemical industry developing paints and coatings, adhesives and other polymeric binders. As head of ecotoxicological studies in a contract research organization, Christoph had his first contact with aquatic ecosystems in 2014. By 2016, he became in charge of environmental analytics of ground water, waste water, rivers and lakes including bathing waters in the German Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate. Since 2020, he has been implementing satellite observation data in routine surveillance of bathing waters for early recognition and monitoring of harmful algae bloom.
Nicole has a background in physical geography and remote sensing with more than 15 years experience in the field of imaging spectroscopy. During her PhD at the Technical University in Munich her focus was on mapping shallow water macrophytes in lakes using hyperspectral remote sensing. Her major interests are water related remote sensing applications in shallow inland and coastal environments, species classification and biodiversity monitoring using high-resolution data. Nicole spent several years in Australia working at scientific institutions at CSIRO Land and Water and at Murdoch University as well as in industry at Woodside Energy Ltd, where she was involved in large scale environmental projects using hyperspectral airborne and multispectral satellite data for mapping shallow marine benthic habitat and coral reef ecosystems. She has expertise in field data acquisition, bio-optical modelling and the analysis of spectral libraries of benthic substrates. Since 2009, she has been working at the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) of DLR. There, she is Application Support Manager within the Ground Segment of the new hyperspectral EnMAP mission.
After his studies of Geography, Eckhard had his first earth observation experiences with Landsat by a self-programmed software. He pursued in the field of IT and environmental protection while working for the City of Wuppertal for 20 years. There, he applied remote sensing for creating temperature maps by means of airborne lidar . By 1990, Eckhard started focusing on water management. Among others, he pioneered the field by mapping all watercourses, elaborating a water development plan and implementing re-nature projects at smaller currents and the city’s river “Wupper”. He also initiated risk-analysis of heavy rainfalls and put mitigation measures into practice. He applied remote sensing for the creation of a digital elevation model of rainfall courses and for the automatic mapping of sealed surfaces.
In 2010, he changed to the environmental Agency of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, first accountable for the European Water Framework Directive. Since 2018, he has been heading the department of Hydrology, Lakes and Climate. In this function, he keeps pioneering the monitoring of lakes for ensuring climate change adaptation and mitigation in the water industry.
Constantin has seven years experience in the remote sensing and GIS sector. During his career and Ph.D. studies he actively worked for the Copernicus Rapid Mapping service where through the used active and passive sensors to extract information about natural (floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) and man-made disasters. After the experience with ITHACA, moved by curiosity he decides to enrich his skills working in the humanitarian sector for REACH an NGO that provides analysis on contexts of crisis in order to inform humanitarian actors. At EOMAP he generates terrain models for customers worldwide and constantly improves the terrain modelling workflows with particular attention to coastal zone areas.
With more than 10 years of experience in the fields of earth observation services and applied solutions, she has developed commercial water monitoring services for various environmental agencies and industry clients. Karin has managed several EU funded projects to innovate satellite–based services. Prior to joining EOMAP in 2011, she worked in the geo–information and remote sensing section of GAF AG and conducted statistical data analysis for BMW Germany.
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