Dr. Lora Van Uffelen, a 2002 Hope College graduate who is now a researcher at the University of Hawaii, will present the address “Exploring the Ocean with Acoustics: Science and Sea Stories” on Friday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m. in room 102 of VanderWerf Hall.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Van Uffelen’s address will focus on a large-scale oceanographic experiment funded by the Office of Naval Research in the Philippine Sea from 2009 to 2011. One of the objectives of the experiment was to study the oceanography of the Philippine Sea using the method of ocean acoustic tomography, a technique that involves measuring the amount of time it takes for sound signals to travel through the water. She will describe the observational technique in the context of the Philippine Sea experiment, with a focus on the scientific instrumentation that it employs, including deep-water acoustic moorings and autonomous underwater vehicles.
Van Uffelen is an assistant researcher in the Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering at the University of Hawaii. She graduated from Hope with a Bachelor of Science degree with an engineering major, and also holds a doctorate in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
The presentation is through the seminar series coordinated by the college’s department of engineering. VanderWerf Hall is located at 27 Graves Place, between 10th Street and Graves Place (11th Street) and Central and College avenues.