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]

 

Past President Colin Summerhayes (Scott Polar Research Institute) has tendered his resignation from Council a few months short of the end of his 6-year term, as he has taken up a temporary post as an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ, for the  southern summer season from November 2015 through January 2016. Colin will be lecturing and mentoring students studying for the Postgraduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies (PCAS) in the university’s Gateway Antarctica Department. He is currently chairing the international performance review board for the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), and awaiting delivery of his new book “Earth’s Climate Evolution”, the story of climate change from the little-known geological perspective. His latest lecture on that topic is on YouTube at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0pgrzGnpv0&spfreload=10.

The SUT would like to thank Colin for all of his hard work and contribution towards the Society over the years. We will be sad to say goodbye to Colin, but wish him the best of luck in his new role.

Revised Articles of Association adopted

The Walrus and Carpenter on Monument Street in London provided an excellent venue for a rare meeting of SUT Members at which the revised Articles of Association of the Society were formally adopted.

As a limited liability company registered with Companies House, we are obliged to lodge with them our Articles of Association, which could be best described as our constitution. First written in 1968 with some minor revisions made over the years, it was agreed by Council that it was time to bring the document up to date making it better reflect the Society’s role in the modern world, particularly with respect to our international aspirations. This task was undertaken by a small working group led by David Kirkley, Chairman of the SUT’s International Committee, over the last year. David explained to those present the broad changes that had been made and that this document and that he hoped it would remain relevant to the Society for many years to come.

In true SUT style, those present made the most of this additional – and hopefully rare – networking opportunity.

On Tuesday 24^th March the newly formed branch of the SUT in Singapore held its first Evening Technical Meeting at the Hotel Jen in the infamous Orchard Road area of Singapore. The theme for the evening had been established as AUV’s but with an emphasis on alternative and unusual applications and instrumentation. The event was well attended with in excess of 100 people mainly from locally based offshore companies but with a few visiting quests from around the region, most notably Joyce Bremner who has been instrumental in establishing the branch in Singapore and assisting with this first event to ensure its success. The evening started with drinks and canapés and in alignment with industry norms there was difficulty in attracting the audience to take their seats away from the bar for the first of the evening presentations.

Emma Hill was first up, ‘Seafloor Geodesy with Wave Gliders: The next frontier to understanding great earthquakes and tsunami’ an interesting alternative application of the use of wave gliders by the Earth Observatory of Singapore to develop innovative systems to undertake seafloor geodesy surveys using AUV’s instead of surface vessels.  Measurements are taken to seafloor instruments using acoustic transceivers installed on wave gliders which can be remotely guided using only renewable energy from waves and the sun. The Sumatra Subduction Zone offshore Indonesia has experienced a number of great earthquakes in the last decade, and remaining seismic gaps may generate large earthquakes in the coming decades.  Their eventual goal is to use these innovative new systems for seafloor geodesy to better understand how this dangerous plate boundary is behaving in an effort to be able to predict seismic activity that may generate tsunamis.

The second presentation was given by Alick Thame, ‘AUV Mission Planning: the fundamentals’, which although based around the conventional AUV’s being utilised on a commercial basis in the offshore industry today focussed on area that very few of us have had any exposure to date. The complex preplanning activity associated with a single AUV deployment was explained in detail and the presentation concluded with a very visually stimulating fly through over the current search area for the missing aircraft flight MH370.

Finally a more light hearted delivery to round off the evening from Thomas Ng and Grace Chia, ‘Engineering AUV’s from the Group Up: A student team’s learning journey’ that explored the interaction between local industry and university students entering a global completion to deliver a very capable AUV from inception through to their success in winning the competition. All were suitably impressed by the drive of the team to learn about the technology required to develop an operational AUV and how quickly they adapted the technology to achieve the complex underwater tasks set by the completion organisers in San Diego.

Then followed a rush back to the bar for further networking and discussion on the night’s proceedings. The consumption was closely monitored by the newly appointed Singapore branch treasurer to ensure that this first event was also a commercial success.

The evening was sponsored by GardlineCGG and Liquid Robotics that we wish to thank for their generous support of this first Evening Technical Meeting. As the Chair for the evening and the Vice Chairman of the newly formed Singapore branch of the SUT I hope this is the first of many successful events to be held in Singapore.

Simon Redford