Editor’s Note: This article is another installment in a continuing series that recognizes those who have distinguished themselves in the ocean engineering profession.

P.R. Saseendran Pillai was born on 28th October 1953. He received his Ph.D. in the field of Underwater Communication: Development of Programmable Arrays in 1982 from the University of Cochin. He started his career as Scientific Officer in the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1982. In 1983, he joined the Department of Electronics, Cochin University of Science And Technology (CUSAT) as faculty and has been elevated to the post of Professor in Electronics in 1994. He was the Professor and Head of the Department of Electronics during 1998–2001.
     Professor Pillai was instrumental in organizing and conducting the biennial Symposium on Ocean Electronics (SYMPOL) in the Department of Electronics of the Cochin University of Science And Technology. This symposium is intended to provide a forum for the researchers to interact with one another and present their innovative ideas and research findings in the area of Ocean Electronics. The tenth SYMPOL is being organized as an International Conference addressing the Global Oceans, Systems and Technologies during 18–20 November, 2009 in The Hotel International, Cochin. The first Symposium of this series (SYMPOL-91) was organized during 18–20 December, 1991, to mark the occasion of the formal opening of the Center for Ocean Electronics established in the Department of Electronics of the Cochin University of Science And Technology as a joint venture of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Government of India) and the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi. A Technical Panel of SYMPOL-91 suggested that the Symposium on Ocean Electronics should be organized periodically, at least once in two years. In line with this recommendation, SYMPOL is being organized as a biennial event. The Technical Panel of SYMPOL-2005 organized during 15–16 December, 2005 suggested that SYMPOL should be organized as an international venture and its international visibility should be enhanced by giving wider publicity and hence SYMPOL-2007 was organized as an international conference. The enthusiasm, cooperation and support extended by the IEEE-OES, particularly by Dr. James S. Collins led to the culmination of the technical cosponsoring of the SYMPOL-2009 by IEEE-OES. The international visibility of SYMPOL and its successful conduct would not have been possible without the whole hearted cooperation and support rendered by his colleague Dr. Supriya M.H., the Coordinator of SYMPOL-2009 as well as his Faculty Colleagues and Research Scholars.
     Professor Pillai has conducted theoretical and experimental studies in Underwater Communication, Sonar Signal Processing, Ocean Acoustics, Communication and Networking. He has more than 86 research publications in these areas and was responsible for editing all the SYMPOL Proceedings. He has ­successfully completed many Technology Development and Application Oriented R & D Projects funded by various Government of India Departments and Agencies. Some of the major projects include Development of an Array Gain Control System, Investigations on Low Frequency Piezopolymer Sensor Elements and Arrays for Underwater Applications, Software Development for Echo Simulation and Processing, Transducer Systems for Ocean Engineering Applications, Computer Aided Design of Transducers, Development of Acoustic Techniques for Fish and DSL Biomass Estimations, Development of Algorithms for Spread Spectrum Underwater Communication Systems, Implementation of multiple CDMA Communication Systems, Implementation of an Intelligent Identifier for Noise Sources in the Ocean, Tuna Resources of the Indian EEZ: An Assessment of Growth and Migratory Patterns, etc. He is presently in the process of implementing two Mission Mode Projects, one on Development of Autonomous Buoy Systems for Radio Acoustic Positioning and Tracking and the other on Development of Miniaturised Archival Tags. He has participated in many cruises and field trials, as a part of implementation of various research projects.
     He has secured the Sir C.V Raman Award for the Best Paper published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of India in the year 2002. He is a member of IEEE, Oceanic Engineering Society, Acoustical Society of America and the Life Member of the Acoustical Society of India. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the new OES India Chapter under the India Council, opened in September, 2008.