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www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 49 create a data base that will be studied for years to come. He well deserves this award."

Gowdy Joins Global

Diving & Salvage

Seattle-based

Global Diving and Salvage hired Renee

Gowdy as Lead

Estimator, responsible for developing esti- mates and pro- posal production within Global’s

Marine Construction Division for

Federal, State, Local and civil cus- tomers as well as other key markets.

He was previously employed by

General Construction and Kiewit

Bridge and Marine.

TSS: New Facility

Teledyne TSS opened a new facility that enables its TSS 440 pipe and cable trackers to be precisely calibrat- ed for specific targets. Samples of pipe or cable provided by the cus- tomer can now be analyzed in the new facility so that an error matrix can be created for the user’s own TSS 440. This makes it possible for burial depths of a particular pipe or cable to be measured to an accuracy of five centimetres or five percent of range so that compliance with installation contracts can be verified. The first tests undertaken at the new facility were carried-out for DeepOcean, the subsea division of the Trico Marine

Group. The company had supplied samples of armored three-core cable that is being installed on a wind-farm project in the German sector of the

North Sea.

Sea-Bird, WET Labs

Graduate Student

Equipment Loan Program

WET Labs and Sea-Bird are solicit- ing innovative proposals from out- standing graduate students studying in the U.S. for study of environmen- tal variables in oceans, estuaries, rivers, lakes, or laboratories. Award recipients will receive loan of Sea-

Bird and/or WET Labs equipment for up to a 1-year study period.

Proposals can be submitted for either/both of the following: Annual grant proposals are due

December 31, 2010; grants will be announced February 15, 2011. Sea-

Bird and WET Labs may also issue an

RFP for a specific field of study; the

RFP will contain submission and award timelines.

Proposals will be judged on: • Scientific merit • Innovation • Demonstrated need for equipment • Ability to obtain quantifiable results within defined period

It is expected that 4 awards will be made during the 2011 calendar year. www.seabird.com/StudentGrants.htm or www.wetlabs.com/StudentGrants.htm

Dr. James E. Eckman

New California Sea Grant Director

California Sea Grant announced the selection of its new director, Dr. James

E. Eckman, a biological oceanographer and longtime senior science admin- istrator at the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Va. "Jim Eckman brings a fine mix of stellar leadership skills and excellent research credentials that will enable Sea Grant to continue its upward momentum," says Scripps

Institution of Oceanography Director Dr. Tony Haymet. "We look forward to a new era with Jim at the helm."

Dr. Eckman comes to Sea Grant having led ONR’s flagship Marine

Mammals and Biological Oceanography Program (and its predecessor pro- grams) for the last 13 years. The marine mammal program, with an annual budget of about $14 million, supports basic and applied research related to understanding the effects of sound on marine mammals and the interac- tions between marine biota and sound or light.

Dr. Eckman has also, in recent years, led ONR’s participation in the feder- al, multi-agency National Oceanographic Partnership Program, which coor- dinates the nation’s oceanographic research and education programs and promotes partnerships among academia, business and federal agencies.

Prior to working at ONR, Dr. Eckman was a professor at the Skidaway

Institute of Oceanography in Savannah, Georgia (1984-97) and held adjunct faculty positions at the University of Georgia in Athens (1988-99) and University of South Carolina in Columbia (1985-99). Much of his research activities during this time focused on benthic ecology and its rela- tionship to the physical environment, particularly boundary layer flows and sediment transport. His official first day at the helm of California Sea Grant will be Jan. 3, 2011.