Meet the Class of 2005-2007
Who are the Navy officers who study at MIT/WHOI?
Nine U.S. Navy officers are pursuing graduate degrees in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering through a special arrangement between the institutions (see "An Officer and a Graduate Student").
Lieutenant Commander Carl Hartsfield, Class of 2005
Education: Murray State University, 1992
Experience: 15 years of active duty as a nuclear-trained submarine officer, including two tours on fast attack submarines (USS Los Angeles and USS Parche) and one tour at the Pentagon
Research: developing a navigation method for REMUS autonomous underwater vehicles that uses a single ship-mounted beacon instead of an expensive acoustic field placed on the bottom of the ocean
Advisors: Arthur Baggeroer, MIT, and Chris von Alt, WHOI
After grad school: will become second-in-command of the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada
Lieutenant junior grade Brendan Gotowka, Class of 2005
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2003
Research: contributing to the Mine Burial Prediction program, which examines how the movement of seafloor sediments can cover and uncover explosives
Advisor: Peter Traykovski, WHOI
After grad school: nuclear power training school and submarine warfare
Lieutenant Benjamin Jones, Class of 2006
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 1997
Experience: helicopter pilot for six years
Research: analyzing the acoustic spectra of “biosonar”—that is, what beaked whales “see” when bouncing echoes off prey
Advisors: Andone Lavery and Tim Stanton, WHOI
After grad school: will join the Meteorology and Oceanography Command
Ensign Allison Berg, Class of 2006
(See "Double Duty for Ensign/Student Allison Berg")
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2004
Research: using portable Sonic Detection and Ranging (SODAR) instruments to study the winds from the ocean’s surface to roughly 200 meters altitude
Advisor: Gene Terray, WHOI
After grad school: training as a surface warfare officer on the destroyer USS Momsen
Ensign Colleen Maloney, Class of 2006
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2004
Research: studying the properties of underwater sand ripples on the continental shelf and how they are remodeled by storms (part of the Mine Burial Prediction program)
Advisor: Peter Traykovski, WHOI
After grad school: training as a surface warfare officer in Little Creek, Va.
Ensign Matthew Watts, Class of 2006
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2004
Experience: served for three years as enlisted sailor before entering the U.S. Naval Academy
Research: working to create a mechanical fish that will mimic the fast startle response observed in fish.
Advisor: Mike Triantafyllou, MIT
After grad school: training as a surface warfare officer in Pearl Harbor
Ensign Kathryn D’Epagnier, Class of 2007
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2005
Research: interested in underwater vehicles
Advisor: To be determined
After grad school: training as a surface warfare officer
Ensign David Farrell, Class of 2007
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2005
Research: to be determined
Advisor: Art Baggeroer, MIT
After grad school:flight school in Pensacola, Fla.
Ensign Maria Parra-Orlandoni, Class of 2007
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, 2005
Research: would like to work with autonomous underwater vehicles
Advisors: Henrik Schmidt, MIT, and Dana Yoerger, WHOI
After grad school: training as a surface warfare officer in San Diego
From the Series
See Also
- An Officer and a Graduate Student from Oceanus magazine