– ‘Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist’ aims to ignite interest in underwater career opportunities-

 

The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) has launched a campaign to get its illustrated children’s book into primary schools with the support of Subsea 7.

Subsea 7 has provided an Aberdeen school with copies of SUT’s educational book, ‘Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist – Quirky Questions and Fascinating Facts about the Underwater World’ which is aimed at growing interest in the exciting variety of careers on offer under the waves.

Primary 5 pupils at Hazlehead Primary School, who recently studied sea life as a topic, were each given a copy of the book thanks to a corporate donation from Subsea 7. SUT is calling on support from other companies to help them roll the book out in schools across the city.

The book, aimed at 10-14 year-olds, takes its name from a true story about Larry the lobster who helped divers discover a missing 8,000-year-old Stone Age civilisation near the Isle of Wight. The 150-page book has been drafted by SUT members who are marine scientists, divers, subsea engineers, academics and from the merchant navy.

 

It covers topics such as:

• Why do ships go missing in the Bermuda Triangle?
• Are lake monsters real and do werewolves exist in the Arctic Sea?
• How to build an underwater robot
• Filming underwater movies
• Whirlpools and discovering treasures from sunken ships
• Where rubbish goes when it’s dumped at sea.
• Could living under the sea be an alternative to relocating to Mars?
• What will happen when the ice caps melt?

 

Dr Bob Allwood, CEO of SUT and one of the authors said: “It’s a challenging time for many sectors at the moment, but it’s important that we continue to inspire school pupils and show them all of the possibilities that are open to them in a way that brings to life all of the wonders of working underwater. I would like to thank Subsea 7 for the generous contribution in providing these books to the children and we would welcome support from other organisations to help roll this out to as many schools as we can.”

Subsea 7’s Stuart Inglis, who is also a member of SUT+, added: “This is a great initiative for both Subsea 7 and SUT to be involved with as it is important we all inspire young pupils to learn more about the oceans. It has been really encouraging to hear the pupils talk about what they have already studied in class and hopefully, with these quirky stories, they will continue to learn about what goes on under the water.”

Companies interested in getting involved with the campaign can find out more information by contacting: [email protected]. The book has been funded by SUT, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. All proceeds from the book go towards SUT’s Educational Support Fund, set up to help young people pursue learning and development opportunities. ‘Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist?’ retails at £12.99 and can be purchased from Amazon and www.sut.org.

SUT is also hosting its annual Christmas Lectures at the end of the year for primary and secondary school pupils. Teachers interested in attending should contact: [email protected]

 

We are delighted to introduce Nicola Henderson who joined the team as our new Events Manager at the start of the New Year.  Based in our Aberdeen office, Nicola is responsible for the operation of all the Society’s events within the UK, in addition to providing support for our very active Aberdeen Branch.  Previously, Nicola worked for British Land plc in London and, prior to that, prosource.it in Aberdeen whose clients are predominantly in the oil and gas industry.  She replaces Kirsty Webster who has moved on to a new challenging post based in Glasgow.

The authors, illustrator and editor gather for a photo.

 

On 24th November 2015 the Society for Underwater Technology held our first–ever launch of a book aimed at younger readers, “Can a Lobster be a Archaeologist?”, kindly hosted at the premises  of Genesis Oil and Gas Consultants Ltd in St Paul’s Churchyard, London.

The launch was a huge success with around 50 attendees. Authors were signing copies, there was lots of chatter and excitement about each others chapters, and plenty of copies sold for Christmas gifts.

The book is very much the brainchild of former SUT President Dr Bil Loth, who as chair of the Policy Advisory Committee was concerned that although we’re good at influencing policy makers, government departments, trade bodies and industry colleagues we’re perhaps not so skilled at getting our message across to the next generation of underwater technologists, scientists and engineers. Our Education and Training Committee does a good job reaching the mid-teens and university students, but what about something for the 10-14 years olds? What about a bright, colourful book that might inspire them?

“Can a Lobster be a Archaeologist?” is the result. SUT pulled together a team of 23 authors from our membership and friends, each an expert in their field, and we asked them to write a chapter or two about an aspect of SUT’s broad range of interests that would fire the imagination of younger readers. Emily Boddy from the London office was tasked as editor, designer, and chief wrangler, keeping everyone on schedule. Perhaps the key person though was the artist we contracted to illustrate the book, Rachel Hathaway. With so many ‘voices’ from the team of authors, Rachel’s beautiful illustrations give a consistency to the book that would otherwise be hard to achieve, helping to weave the stories into a coherent whole. Areas covered are diverse, ranging from exploring for treasure and sunken airliners to offshore renewable energy, scientific diving, oil and gas production and how tsunamis are caused.

The book is for sale via the SUT website, and soon through Amazon.

As for the lobster – you’ll need to read Gary Momber’s chapter to find out!

[photo from L-R: Simon Boxall, Prof Ralph Rayner, Steve Hall, Dr Bob Allwood, Prof John Sharp, Roland Rogers, Dr Bil Loth, David Pugh, Mike Seares, Garry Momber, Bob Cole, James Cooper, Ian Gallett. Front row L-R: Emily Boddy, Rachel Hathaway, Katie Momber]

 

Photo: SUT president David Kirkley presents Dr Kjell Olav Stinessen with his award

 

– Thirty year old napkin sketch became a reality in 2015 –

The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) has presented its President’s Award to Dr Kjell Olav Stinessen in recognition of his long term services to industry at the Society’s AGM and annual dinner in London.

Dr Stinessen has been an engineer for over 50 years and is now a First Chief Engineer at Aker Solutions. In 1985, he drew a sketch on the back of a napkin of his vision for how subsea compression might work in the future. In September this year, 30 years after the napkin drawing, that vision was transformed into reality with the offshore industry’s first full-scale subsea compression station in operation at the Statoil-operated Åsgard field.

Dr Stinessen said: “Being awarded SUT’s President’s Award is a great honour. Countless engineering hours have been spent together by thousands of employees at Aker Solutions, sub-suppliers, Statoil and Shell to realise this vision and I am pleased that persistence can be awarded.

“Even at the age of 73, this inspires me to carry on for more years. I am now working on the development of a new concept which I believe has the same game-changing potential as subsea compression. With the experience we’ve gained, it will not take as long as 30 years this time and I am aiming at seeing it operational while I am still in work.”

Jane Bugler was also presented with The Houlder Cup for her outstanding contribution to underwater operations at the event on December 1. Recently retired, Ms Bugler spent the latter part of her career with the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) as technical director.

She was responsible for all aspects of IMCA’s technical work addressing offshore diving, marine, offshore surveying and ROV activities by developing good practice guidance, liaising with regulatory and industry stakeholders and representing IMCA members’ interests throughout the world. Her contribution towards improving safety in the most challenging of industries has influenced regulations throughout the world.

SUT awarded its Oceanography Award to Dr Karen Heywood, professor of environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia, for her outstanding contribution to the field of oceanography.

Dr Heywood’s research into the processes and dynamics of ocean circulation in the Polar Regions has led to new insights into how mixing and water-mass transformations at small and regional scales affect the global thermohaline circulation. She was also an early advocate for the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) as carriers of sensors and samplers in experiments. Her recent work on this topic has seen undersea gliders being used in the Antarctic, including under icebergs.

Dr Bob Allwood, CEO of SUT said: “The Society is honoured to present these awards to such well-deserving winners. All the awardees have contributed greatly to their professions over the years and it is clear to see that they are still as passionate as ever about their fields of work.”

SUT’s Aberdeen Branch Award of Merit was presented to Ian Murray at a ceremony at the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa, Aberdeen. He was recognised as supporter of the underwater community by encouraging membership, delivering project insights and making time to mentor and encourage newly graduated engineers.

Matthew Head, who picked up his MEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degree from Robert Gordon University earlier this month, was also awarded the tenth Martin Richmond Award at the dinner for demonstrating academic rigour and a passion for their chosen subject. He was presented with a painting created by Gray’s School of Art student Dagmara Milosz.

The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) has today launched a quirky, illustrated book for 10 – 14 year olds aimed at growing interest in the exciting variety of careers on offer under the waves.

The book titled, Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist – Quirky Questions and Fascinating Facts about the Underwater World, is available from Wednesday 25^th November with all proceeds going to SUT’s Educational Support Fund, set up to help young people pursue learning and development opportunities.

The book takes its name from a true story about Larry the lobster who helped divers discover a missing 8,000 year old Stone Age civilisation near the Isle of Wight.

The book has been peer reviewed by children. One of the young critics, ten-year-old David Laing of Aberdeen said: “It’s packed full of interesting stories covering everything from real life sea monsters to whirlpools, finding treasure from sunken ships and how to build an underwater robot. It’s fun to read, but you also learn a lot of new facts and the pictures are brilliant.”

The 150 page book has been drafted by SUT members who are marine scientists, divers, subsea engineers, academics and from the merchant navy.

It covers topics such as:

• Why do ships go missing in the Bermuda Triangle?
• Are lake monsters real and do werewolves exist in the Arctic Sea?
• How to build an underwater robot
• Filming underwater movies
• Whirlpools and discovering treasures from sunken ships
• Where rubbish goes when it’s dumped at sea.
• Could living under the sea be an alternative to relocating to Mars?
• What will happen when the ice caps melt?

Dr Bob Allwood, CEO of SUT and one of the authors said: “We wanted to bring to life all of the wonders of working underwater. It’s a challenging time for many sectors at the moment, but it’s important that we continue to inspire the next generation and show them all of the possibilities that are open to them. One common thread between the authors is that they love what they do and this passion and excitement is infectious. We hope the book will make an ideal stocking filler for many young people this Christmas.”

The book has been funded by SUT, which will celebrate its 50^th anniversary next year.

Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist? retails at £12.99 and can be purchased from Wednesday 25^th November from SUT www.sut.org/can-a-lobster-be-an-archaeologist/ and from Amazon www.amazon.co.uk from the end of the month.

Image: David Laing (10) and Daisy Nicholls (10) of Aberdeen launch the new book Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist? All proceeds from sales will go to the Society for Underwater Technology’s Educational Support Fund.

The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) is getting set to launch a fun, informative, illustrated book for 10–14 year olds aimed at growing interest in the wonders of underwater technology.

The book titled, Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist – Quirky Questions and Fascinating Facts about the Underwater World, will be launched in November with many past and present SUT members contributing to the content.

From exploring lost treasure to sea monsters, ocean rubbish and how to build your own ROV, the book is packed with factual and fun stories brought to life by quirky illustrations by artist Rachel Hathaway.

Pre-orders of the book, which will retail at £12.99, are being taken at the Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition in Aberdeen this week which has the theme of ‘How to inspire the next generation’.

Emily Boddy, Publications Officer at SUT explained: “We want to bring to life the excitement of the underwater world to encourage young people to get interested in the sector. A group of 10 – 14 year olds has peer reviewed the content and given insightful feedback, but we think adults will also be interested in reading about the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, giant whirlpools and underwater robots.”

The book has been funded by the SUT, which is a not-for-profit organisation and all proceeds will go towards its agenda of supporting educational development and facilitating learning and networking opportunities. The title of the book originates from a story about an 8,000 year old settlement near the Isle of Wight, rediscovered by a lobster digging to create a burrow which was then found by divers.

To find out more or pre-order the book visit www.sut.org or contact [email protected]

SUT will at Offshore Europe on stand 6D19. Interviews are available with CEO Dr Bob Allwood, please get in touch if you would like to arrange a time.

 

…Ends…

 

Issued on behalf of SUT by The BIG Partnership. For interviews or further information contact:

Gayle Grant, account director tel +44 (0) 1224 253808, 07702 737135 email [email protected]

Richard Crighton, senior account executive, tel +441224253813, email [email protected]