Jointly sponsored by the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society (OES), the OCEANS ’09 conference was held 26–29 October, 2009 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA. The theme of the conference was “Ocean Technology for Our Future: Global and Local Challenges”
     The Mississippi Gulf Coast has a rich heritage of maritime industry and technology, so the Biloxi venue was highly appropriate for an OCEANS conference. More than two dozen federal government agencies are located near the Gulf Coast including NASA’s Stennis Space Center, home of the US Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.

Ed Gough addresses the conference during the plenary session.

Dr. Jerry Miller delivers his address at the plenary session.

John Dunnigan at the NOAA Town Hall.

     The conference opened with a plenary session on Tuesday, October 27 led by the General Co-chairs of the event, Laurie Jugan of MTS and Ed Gough of OES. During the opening ceremonies dignitaries greeted the conference, including representatives from the Governor of Mississippi, the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and the presidents of both MTS and OES.
     After the opening ceremonies, three plenary speakers updated conference attendees with current developments in ocean science and policy. Dr. Jerry Miller, Senior Scientist for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy discussed “Ocean Science and Technology Policy.” Next, Ed Gough, Technical Director of the Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command presented “Ocean Data at Your Fingertips”, an initiative being undertaken to encourage the sharing of ocean data. Finally, Dr. John Delaney, Professor of Oceanography at the University of Washington presented “At the Leading Edge of a Global Environmental Renaissance: Next-Generation Science in the Ocean Basins.”.
     Following the plenary session a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to officially open the conference and exhibition.
     A unique feature of this conference was the Town Hall sessions:
     On Tuesday was the JSOST Town Hall with a theme of “Refreshing Our Ocean Research Priorities.” The US National Science and Technology Council’s Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (JSOST) advises the US government on national issues of ocean science and technology. JSOST published an ocean research priorities plan and implementation strategy titled “Charting the Course for Ocean Science in the United States for the Next Decade. In the years since its release, much has changed in our understanding of the ocean, its processes and its role in the Earth system as a whole. This Town Hall provided conference attendees an opportunity to provide input into the refresh process, and discuss progress to date with chairs of JSOST.
     Wednesday’s Town Hall discussed the Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS) and explored its public-private use policy. On 30-March-2009, President Obama signed into law the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observing Act of 2009. Among the requirements in the Act is a directive to the National Ocean research Leadership Council to develop a Public-Private Use Policy. This policy will define the processes for making decisions about the roles of various organizations in both the public and private sector in providing to end-user communities environmental information, products, technologies and services related to the IOOS. This Town Hall meeting was an opportunity to discuss this issue and collect inputs.

Laurie Jugan, Charles Zang, and CAPT John Cousins cut the ribbon to officially open the conference and exhibition.	SAIC’s booth provided literature and knowledgeable people to explain their many products and services.
The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command’s exhibit featured their use of gliders to collect oceanographic data.	The National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology (NIUST) booth proudly exhibits their Eagle Ray AUV.
The Teledyne Marine booth displayed their connectors and other products.	The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources had an exhibit to inform conference participants about the services they provide along the Gulf Coast.

     Thursday’s Town Hall featured the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with a theme of “The Future of Ocean and Coastal Mapping.” John H. Dunnigan, the National Ocean Service Assistant Administrator, shared his thoughts and heard participant’s views on the importance of advancing a national vision for the future of ocean and coastal mapping. This vision is to develop a plan to collaboratively map U.S. ocean and coastal areas, and use the resulting data to meet the broadest suite of mandates and missions. An integral component of this vision will be to catalyze a technological revolution in all steps in the ocean and coastal mapping process, including data collection, processing, management, dissemination, and the creation of useful products for decision makers.
     A centerpiece of each OCEANS conference is the student poster exhibition. Thirty one posters were on display in the area between the exhibit hall and the technical session rooms. The posters and the students are covered in greater detail in a separate article later in this issue.
     Papers were presented at the technical sessions in the following tracks illustrating the broad spectrum of rich technical material presented at the OCEANS conferences. Some of these tracks required several sessions to present all of the papers.

OES President Jerry Carrol presents the Distinguished Technical Achievement Award to Bob Bannon.	Jerry Carrol presents the Distinguished Service Award to Christian de Moustier for his many years of service on the OES Administrative Committee and as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Oceanic Engineering.
Roper Resources Ltd stayed busy explaining their solutions to potential clients.	Chip Worsinger, Karen Lynn, Kevin Comer, Heidi Wilkers, Donna Kocak, and Rick Simonian enjoy a moment together at the Gala.
A live band kept everyone moving with lively music designed for Parrotheads of the Jimmy Buffet generation.	Diane DiMassa, Bob Wernli, and Barb Fletcher enjoying the music at the Gala.
The exhibit floor was great venue for companies and customers to meet, discuss projects, and strengthen relationships.
Bruce Magnell and Todd Morrison at the Gala.	Jim Collins and Ken Fereri at the carving table.

• Marine Geology and Geophysics
• Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
• Remotely Operated Vehicles
• Inundation Modeling
• Array Signal Processing and Array Design
• Ropes and Tension Members
• Buoy Technology
• Data Visualization
• Coastal Radars
• E-M Sensing
• US IOOS and OOI Program
• Hydrography, Seafloor Mapping, and Geodesy
• Space and Airborne Systems
• Optical Underwater Communications
• Sonar Signal Processing
• Disaster and Catastrophe Management
• Acoustic Telemetry and Communication
• Renewable Ocean Energy
• Numerical Modeling and Simulation
• Calibration of Acoustic Systems and Metrology
• Operational Oceanography
• Model-Based Signal Processing Techniques
• General Oceanography
• Physical Oceanography
• Marine Life and Ecosystems
• Current Measurement Technology
• Sound Propogation and Scattering
• Classification and Pattern Recognition
• Acoustic Telemetry and Communication
• Alternatives to Decommissioning Offshore Structures
• Ocean Instrumentation and Sensors
• Ocean Color Observations
• Marine Spatial Planning Round Table
• Offshore Structures
• Data Assimilation
• Hyperspectral Observations
• Synthetic Aperture Sonar
• Vehicle Performance
• Habitat: Wetlands, Barrier Islands, and Bays
• Marine Outreach
• Nutrient Sensors
• Information Management
• Geoacoustic Inversion
• Sonar Imaging
• Vehicle Navigation
• Marine Education
• Underwater Imaging
• Ocean Acoustics
• Marine Materials Science
• Marine Policy for Unmanned Vehicles
• Hypoxia: The Dead Zone
• Ocean Observatories
• Marine GIS and Data Fusion
• Underwater Imaging System Results
• Signal Coherence and Fluctuation
• Ocean Observing Systems
• Marine Safety and Security
• Cables and Connectors

     At Tuesday’s luncheon the OES Distinguished Service Award was presented to Christian de Moustier and the Distinugished Technical Achievement Award was presented to Bob Bannon.
     The exhibitions at the conference are always a highlight because they provide an opportunity for several types of organizations related to the maritime industry to present their products and services and to meet their customers. At this conference more than 120 exhibits were present. A few of these are featured below.
     Several social events were also scheduled to encourage networking and to maximize enjoyment for all participants. These events included tours of local attractions, receptions, a local art show and sale, and a gala reception in the ballroom with a theme of “OCEANS in Paradise.” The gala was also an opportunity to wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt and cut loose on the dance floor to live music.
     Four cadets from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy attended the conference as guests of OES to enhance their education and awareness of the importance of professional societies like OES. Below we reprint a thank you letter received from cadet Peter Cornet.
     On behalf of the four Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadets who attended OCEANS ’09 MTS/IEEE in Biloxi, I would like to say thank you to the Oceanic Engineering Society for making the trip possible. The trip was a great experience, from the tour of the Stennis Space Center to the technical programs to the student poster program. I would also like to express our gratitude to everyone who coordinated and attended the conference for the courtesy that we were showed, while we were learning and taking in the experience of the conference.
     The tour of the Stennis Space Center was an eye-opening experience that showed us the potential of determination and inventiveness, by showing us what has been achieved and what currently is being achieved in propulsion, computer programming, and marine engineering. I would like to also thank everyone at the Stennis Space Center for their professionalism and generosity in sharing their knowledge with us.
     During the conference the cadets took the opportunity to meet many different companies that embrace innovation. To learn about these companies and the opportunities that were created would have been quite an experience in itself, but the technical programs were enlightening. While we enjoyed learning from all the presenters, we found the buoy, alternative energy, and AUV/ROV programs to be exceptionally informative. Not only did we learn from the technical program, but also from the student poster program. To see how diligently each student worked on each of their projects and how much each student took their topic to heart was truly inspiring.
     The OCEANS conference was an exceptionally coordinated and managed program that I feel helped open my eyes to the possibilities of the future, not just for myself and the other cadets who attended, but for my entire generation. There are breathtaking discoveries to be made and incredible feats to be accomplished in the years to come, and the promise that the future holds is exhilarating. There is no way to show the gratitude that we have to everyone who made this possible for us, so I will simply say thank you.