SAFL Seminar: Developing low-cost, open-source observation systems for the Great Lakes - Craig Hill - UMD
Craig Hill, Assistant Professor, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth
Abstract: Lake Superior is known for its Gales of November, when The Lake shows its strength and unpredictability during large storms with intense winds and awe-inspiring waves that resemble the oceans. Unfortunately by this point, most real-time surface observation systems have been recovered for the winter, so we lack detailed over-water surface observations during late fall, winter, and early spring seasons. Engineering observation systems and deployment logistics under these conditions is certainly no easy task. Relying on numerical modeling and satellite observations become increasingly important during these periods, yet further insight is needed to validate these resources that are heavily relied on by mariners, coastal warning systems, and Great Lakes municipalities. This talk will look at ongoing development of a low-cost, open-source platform for Lagrangian measurements across the Great Lakes, providing potential for new insight into large freshwater system air-sea interactions, contaminant transport, extreme waves, ice tracking, and other mobile observations. Discussion will focus around the development process, applications for a growing Smart Great Lakes Initiative, and in the context of exploring marine energy technologies for Blue Economic opportunities.
About the Speaker: Craig Hill is a new assistant professor in the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He spent nearly 10 years at SAFL, from working on the Technical and Engineering Staff, to completing his PhD investigating the interactions between marine hydrokinetic energy technology performance and hydro-morphodynamics. Since then, Craig spent time as a Postdoc in the University of Washington’s Department of Mechanical Engineering continuing R&D in marine energy technologies, leading R&D and new composite material product design for Werner Paddles, and as an observation system marine engineer for the UMD Large Lakes Observatory. In his faculty role, he is working to develop low-cost sensing platforms for marine and atmospheric engineering applications, with specific focus on Great Lakes environments during seasons when many observation systems are no longer deployed.