Khalifa University hosted talk by scientist, Tony Haymet, on the robotic exploration of the ocean

Khalifa University announced today that it held a talk on ocean exploration and its implications to science and technology, as part of its Distinguished Speakers Series, at the InterContinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi on November 18^th.    

The talk, which was open to the public, was presented by distinguished scientist, educator, policy advisor and business development leader Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice Chancellor for Marine Science and Professor, University of California at San Diego.  He is also co-founder and Chair of CleanTech San Diego, which promotes and supports clean technology businesses. 

Dr. Haymet discussed the robotic exploration of the ocean, which is beginning to explode after a 50 year hiatus. He used the example of the ARGO network of 3500 submersible (unpiloted and untethered) robots to measure temperature and salinity (argo.ucsd.edu). This network allows global teams of scientists to measure the fundamental physical properties of the ocean.   

Dr. Haymet also discussed the financial problems being experienced by governments which have traditionally funded earth, atmosphere and ocean science, and how new consortia and mechanisms are evolving to spur this new age of exploration. 

“It was a privilege to welcome Dr. Haymet to Abu Dhabi, and we are delighted that he could speak to our students and the public,” said Dr. Tod Laursen, President of Khalifa University. “This talk, as do the others within the distinguished speaker’s series, provided a very useful context for our students to complement their academic interests in science and technology, as well as give them ideas for future career pursuits. We had the opportunity to host Dr. Haymet on our campus, and he was able to meet with our Robotics and Biomedical faculty, as well as, faculty from other disciplines. Our faculty and students greatly appreciated this, and it was a wonderful learning opportunity for them.” 

Khalifa University is currently offering a Ph.D in Robotics and a M.Sc. in Engineering by Research. Khalifa University’s Robotics Institute is currently conducting research in the unmanned vehicles, with a focus on Autonomous Navigation, Teleoperation, Autonomous Handling and Manipulation, and on Biomedical Robotics, specifically Rehabilitation Robots and Human Augmentation.