Over the last week in June, Ocean Network Canada’s three major advisory groups met in Victoria to help chart the course of the world’s most advanced cabled ocean observatories.
Members of the Board of Directors, International Science Advisory Board and Ocean Observatory Council also attended an evening reception and screening of the documentary “Reaching Blue,” taking a break from their strategic sessions at the Inn at Laurel Point, on the city’s harbourfront.
“This has been a rare opportunity for Ocean Networks Canada. We’ve been able to draw upon the collective expertise in ocean science, innovation and governance represented by this unique group of people from around the world. It’s been a dynamic week of discussions that will help to shape our future direction.”
– Dr. Kate Moran, President & CEO of Ocean Networks Canada
Joining us in Victoria this year: (Top L-R) Howard Brunt, Kate Moran, Christopher Loomis, Gayle Gorill, Beverly Van Ruyven, Alan Winter; (Bottom L-R) Tom Gallagher, Peter Madden, Martha Crago, Jamie Millin (Board Secretary), Charles Randell, Andrew Bjerring, Bud Graham, Jim Roche.
The Board of Directors meets four times a year to provide oversight on all strategic planning and operations. This esteemed group of 16 nationally recognized leaders is drawn from academia, government and the private sector. A special note of thanks to Dr. Howard Brunt, who attended his last board meeting after serving for seven years. His term coinicides with the end of his term as the University of Victoria’s VP Research.
The International Science Advisory Board meets twice a year, but only once in person. Composed of members as far away as the UK, Hawaii and China, this board's mandate is to provide strategic advice to help ensure that Ocean Networks Canada achieves its goals within the context of international developments in ocean research. This year, Dr. Huping Xu attended for Pinxian Wang from Tongji University, while board member Susay Avery participated by phone.
Attending this summer's meeting: (L-R) Bruce Howe, Jacqueline Grebmeier, Mark Abbot, David Martin, Kendra Daly, Henry Ruhl, Frank Vernon, Kyoshi Suyehiro, Huping Xu.
Advisory board chair since 2011, Mark Abbott from the University of Oregon, is stepping down this year. Kendra Daly, with the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida has become the new chair. The board also welcomes new members Paolo Favali from Italy’s Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and Masanao Shinohara from the Center for Geophysical Observation and Instrumentation, at the University of Tokyo.
The Ocean Observatory Council is a new body formed by merging previous science advisory committees from both the NEPTUNE and VENUS ocean observatories. This group of highly respected scientists—all involved for years with the development of the cabled observatories—meets multiple times each year to provide guidance based on Ocean Networks Canada’s five-year science plan. Council members include: David Butterfield, Earl Davis, John Hildebrand, Rich Pawlowicz and Richard Thompson.
“I’d like to extend ours thanks and appreciation to the members of our two major advisory teams for joining us in Victoria this year, and also to those members who could not be present at this time, but continue to contribute in so many ways to the success of Ocean Networks Canada as a world-leading research facility.”
– Dr. Andrew Bjerring, Chair, Ocean Networks Canada Board of Directors
