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ECE Seminar* Speaker: Dr. Lora Van Uffelen, University of Rhode Island (URI)

When: Friday, November 22, 2024
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Where: Science and Engineering Building 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA
Cost: Free
Description: Topic: Geo-Positioning with Underwater Acoustics in a Changing Arctic

Speaker: Dr. Lora Van Uffelen, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering with joint appointment with the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island (URI), South Kingstown, RI

Location: Science & Engineering Building (SENG), Room 222

Abstract:
We have constant access to accurate geo-positioning on our ever-present mobile devices courtesy of electromagnetic signals from GPS satellites. Vehicles navigate using these signals on the roads, in the air, in space, and on the seas. These signals are quickly attenuated below the sea surface, however, complicating geo-positioning for vehicles and other platforms under water and under ice. Low-frequency acoustic signals can travel for hundreds of kilometers in the ocean, offering an acoustic analog to GPS. In recent decades, warming of the surface layers of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic has led to the formation of a subsurface acoustic duct which enables sound transmission to longer ranges. Here we explore the use of acoustic signals for vehicle geo-positioning in the Beaufort Sea as well as across the Arctic Ocean, and the impact of ocean temperature structure on the propagation and interpretation of these signals.

Biography:
Lora Van Uffelen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island with a joint appointment in the Graduate School of Oceanography. She has a PhD in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is a recipient of the 2023 Early Career Faculty Research and Scholarship Excellence Award at URI in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Engineering. Dr. Van Uffelen is interested in acoustic propagation and the effects of oceanographic variability at long ranges. She is particularly interested in acoustic receiving on mobile platforms and the use of long-range acoustic signals for underwater positioning. Her recent work focuses on sound-propagation in the Arctic. In addition to mentoring graduate students, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in underwater acoustics and ocean engineering.

The Seminar is open to the public free of charge.
*For further information, please contact Dr. John R. Buck via email at jbuck@umassd.edu.
Topical Areas: General Public, University Community, College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering