NOAA Ships and Contractor Operations

Weekly Hydro Ship Activity Report - Week of February 3, 2019

Navigation Response Teams

All NRTs, except for NRT5 (homeported in New London, Connecticut) are in their respective homeports assessing their boats, vehicles, trailers, and survey systems. NRT5 is assisting the U.S. Coast Guard with their search for the F/V Mistress off of Block Island, Rhode Island. Bay Hydro II is alongside undergoing annual/routine maintenance and planning a contracted repair period.

Awards

Congratulations to Terence Lynch from Coast Survey's Resource Management Staff who received one of the U.S. Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) presented last week at the 2019 BEYA STEM Global Competitiveness Conference in Washington, D.C. Terence was one of six NOAA recipients of the BEYA Modern-Day Technology Leader Award, which recognizes efforts in strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce pipeline and a commitment to driving the science endeavors of their respective organizations. Terence's recognition is attributed to his work with NOAA's Diversity Professional Advancement Working Group (DPAWG) with fostering relationships and creating potential opportunities at NOAA and USDA for minority students from historically black colleges and universities in STEM related fields, and also his work serving as co-lead of the DPAWG's Advancement Team.

Staff Updates

Amanda Phelps has joined the Resource Management Staff in the front office, after nearly nine years as a contractor. She will be working on budget formulation, strategic planning, and internships. She will also be chair of Coast Survey’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. Prior to coming to Coast Survey, Amanda worked for the NOS Budget Formulation Division. Amanda completed her MS degree in environmental biology from Hood College and undergraduate in marine science from Coastal Carolina University. When not at work, she enjoys spending time in the Outer Banks at the beach with her family.

Coast Survey front office staff welcomes our 2019 Knauss Fellow, Christine Burns. Christine recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a master’s degree in marine science. Her research focused on analyzing historical changes in salt marshes at three long term research sites using aerial imagery. Her undergraduate degree in environmental science is from Dickinson College.










Coast Survey's front office staff welcomes Kevin Mackenzie. Kevin started as a communications intern and now works for Lynker Technologies as a communications specialist. Kevin graduated from Washington College with a degree in environmental studies and minor in Hispanic studies. He enjoys swimming and fishing in his free time. In the future he hopes to spend more time traveling through Latin America.





Navigation Services Division (NSD) welcomes Lt. j.g. Patrick Debroisse as the officer in charge of Bay Hydro II. He was formerly the junior officer in charge of Bay Hydro II and a junior officer on NOAA Ship Fairweather. Debroisse holds a degree from Norwich University: Military College of Vermont.





NSD welcomes Lt. j.g. Patrick Lawler as the junior officer in charge on Bay Hydro II. He was formerly a junior officer on NOAA Ship Fairweather. Lawler graduated from The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, in 2016.







NSD also welcomes Lt. j.g. Collin Walker to our navigation response team homeported in Stennis, Mississippi (NRT1). He will serve as a hydrographic support officer. Walker was formerly a junior officer on NOAA Ship Rainier.











Marine Chart Division welcomes Lt. j.g. Sydney Catoire as the new ECDIS project manager. She was formerly a junior officer on NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson. Catoire holds a degree from Old Dominion University.








Congratulations to Corey Allen for being selected as chief of Hydrographic Surveys Division's Operations Branch. A NOAA employee for more than 15 years, Corey was acting chief of the branch from September 2017 until accepting the permanent position in December 2018. Corey holds a bachelor of science degree in marine and coastal natural resources from North Carolina State University.




HSD welcomes Alexandra Dawson to the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch. Alexandra is an ERT hydrographic data technician contractor and will be working on survey data review for areas impacted by hurricanes or significant storms including the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and specific areas of the U.S. East Coast. She also assists with processing multibeam acoustic backscatter and creating mosaics, and generating approved survey’s GeoPDF. Alexandra received her bachelor of science degree in geology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina.