Coast Survey Biweekly Newsletter

On June 11, Rear Adm. Shep Smith served as a panelist on the Marine Technology Society (MTS) virtual conference, Industry Role in Seabed 2030. This half-day conference was a follow up to a webinar hosted in May, and focused on the next generation of ocean mapping technology and state-of-the-art tools that will be necessary to achieve the ambitious goal of mapping the world’s oceans by the year 2030. Smith served on the opening panel which included a recap from previous webinar. He was joined by International Hydrographic Organization Secretary General, Dr. Mathias Jonas; Jaime McMichael-Phillips, Seabed 2030 Project Director; and Dr. Jyotika Virmani, Executive Director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. For more information contact Kristen.Crosset@noaa.gov.

Marine Chart Division (MCD) welcomes Kathryn “Katie” Smith to Production Branch G. Previously, Katie worked for the Maryland Department of the Environment as a GIS lead for the Wetlands and Waterways Program. Katie received a master’s degree in coastal zone management from University of Miami, where she completed a thesis on developing methods for mapping seagrass in Greece’s Aegean Sea, and a bachelor’s in marine science from Coastal Carolina University. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities (especially those by the water!), traveling, and baking.

Coast Survey would like to welcome our summer interns:

The communications team welcomes Steven Yu (ERT) for the summer. Steven is currently a senior at University of Maryland, College Park, and will be graduating in fall 2020 with a bachelor's degree in communication. During his free time, he loves to travel, he recently visited Thailand, Iceland, Philippines, and Canada. Other than going site seeing, Steven really enjoys trying different foods from all the backgrounds - you can say he’s a bit of a foodie. He also enjoys nightlife - being able to experience live music and dancing. Steven’s to-go music is electric dance music and hip-hop/rap.

Rosemary Burkhalter-Castro (ERT) is working this summer as a hydrographic data intern. She is on a team project developing and testing a workflow for processing EK60 bathymetric data. This data has the potential to be used in bathymetric databases for mapping purposes. During the previous summer, she worked as a Hollings Scholar intern in the Hydrographic Systems and Technology Branch (HSTB) where she processed side scan sonar data for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Burkhalter-Castro recently graduated from Eckerd College with a degree in marine geophysics and a minor in biology. Ultimately, she hopes to incorporate hydrography into her career as an oceanographer. After work, Rosemary enjoys spending time at sea, watching Star Trek, and horseback riding.

Christian Schroeder (ERT) is working for HSTB and is focused on developing a pipeline for processing EK60 raw data. He recently received his bachelor's degree in creative technologies from Virginia Tech with a minor in geographic information science, and will be pursuing a master's of science degree in geography and GIS certificate at George Washington University this coming fall. Christian previously worked as a geospatial research associate for Virginia Tech's ARIES Program, converting aerial imagery from battleground excavation sites for implementation into virtual reality environments. In his free time, Christian enjoys playing with his two dogs, hiking, and traveling.

In memoriam:

It was with great sadness that we learned of Kurt Hess' passing yesterday of pancreatic cancer. Kurt was a beloved member of the Office of Coast Survey and has provided invaluable contributions towards the Office of Coast Survey mission through his scientific expertise, experience, and vision. When the Coast Survey Development Laboratory was established, Kurt was chief of the modeling branch. In 1997 he was selected to be the Chief Scientist of the Lab and held that position until his retirement. However, that was not the end of his career with NOAA; he continued as a vital consultant to Coast Survey until very recently.

Kurt was one of the founders of VDatum and he provided guidance, expertise, and leadership to Coast Survey on VDatum and S-111. He was the co-developer of the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System, NOS' first operational oceanographic forecast modeling system for the U.S. and led the efforts to develop the procedures and targets to evaluate the accuracy of predictions from NOS OFSs which continue to be used today. He pioneered many of the early coastal ocean modeling initiatives in NOAA to establish this cornerstone of expertise in NOS. He understood well the importance of scientific integrity to our mission and truly valued being a mentor to all of the people with whom he worked. He was inclusive of everyone's perspectives and fostered an environment of advancing our science and products through community discussions.

Kurt had a joy of life and passed that onto others. He often held lunchtime gatherings to show pictures from his trips to unique and exotic places. Some of us would whistle songs we'd heard from birds at home and he could quickly identify the species as he was an avid bird watcher. Kurt will be dearly missed and all of his many contributions will have a long-lasting impact.

NOAA's Office of Coast Survey Navigation Services Division (NSD) has three Physical Science Technician (ZT-1311-02/03) positions available on USAJobs, two at Stennis Space Center, MS and one in New London, CT. These positions are with NOAA's navigation response teams, that carry out, monitor, and coordinate all aspects of shallow water hydrographic survey field operations to support routine nautical chart updates and rapid response to navigational emergencies.

Physical Science Technician (DE/CR)

The announcement will close on Monday, July 6, 2020 OR once 100 applications have been received. If you have any questions, please reach out to Matt.Kroll@noaa.gov, deputy chief, NSD, or to John.Lomnicky@noaa.gov, chief, NSD's Navigation Response Branch.