Page 22: of Marine Technology Magazine (June 2011)

22 MTR June 2011

What is your background?

Thompson I have been involved in high resolution acoustic imaging since I started my career. My first job was developing advanced mine countermeasures sonar with the US Navy lab in Panama City, FL (NSWC-PC).

As a civilian employee of a US Navy Lab, I became aware of the many challenges confronted by the military person- nel when accomplishing their missions in the marine envi- ronment, particularly in the area of underwater sensing.

These are similar challenges to what many maritime pro- fessionals deal with every day, from the oil and gas indus- try to port security. That experience instilled in me a deep interest in delivering new, better, and reliable solutions to maritime professionals in the field. That interest is what drives us at BlueView. Delivering a new solution that makes a real difference to our customers, whether their job can now be conducted safer, faster, or better, is what is really exciting and satisfying.

How did you come to be involved in the industry?

Thompson I think an interest in the maritime indus- try was really in my blood. I grew up fishing, diving, and boating in and around the often-murky waters near Tamp

Bay, Fla. I always wanted to be able to see better under- water, whether I was diving on a wreck or avoiding a rock or sandbar in a boat. There was never enough visibility for me. When I first learned about acoustics, I was hooked because I knew it could be a great tool for solving many underwater vision and measurement challenges.

Please give a brief description of BlueView

Thompson BlueView is a company that uses focused

R&D efforts to deliver easy-to-use technology break- throughs. It is a US based manufacturer and a spin out from the Applied Physics Lab at the University of

Washington. BlueView was founded in 2003 with my partners Jason Seawall and Scott Bachelor. Today, it is a rapidly growing organization that delivers underwater vision and measurement solutions with more than 500 systems installed worldwide.

What do you consider your core business?

Thompson Our 2D imaging sonar or ‘acoustic cam- eras’ are fast-becoming standard tools for both offshore and inshore operations. As a pioneer in multibeam sonar, we consider our 2D multibeam imaging sonar systems to be our ‘core business.’ However, we continue to develop new solutions, like our 3D scanning and

MicroBathymetry solutions.

What are the core strengths of your company?

Thompson BlueView’s core strengths are our innova- tion and technology, an exceptional team, and strong

Five Minutes With

Lee Thompson, Ph.D.

CEO/CTO, and Founder of BlueView Technologies, Inc.