Meet the Brilliant Blue Mentors
Brilliant Labs is delighted to present an exceptional lineup of mentors for the Inaugural International Brilliant Blue Competition Challenge, set to take place this Saturday, December 16th. These #BrilliantBlueMentors will play a pivotal role in guiding and inspiring teams as they showcase innovative solutions driving the blue economy.
Meet David Keith!
“I graduated from Dalhousie (TUNS) with a Chemical Engineering degree, I have an MSc in Biology from the University of Calgary where I studied Forest Science, and a PhD in Marine Biology from Dalhousie where I primarily explored the impact of fisheries on population demographics.
I am currently a Research Scientist in the Scallop and Benthic Habitat Unit with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. My primary research focus is to develop methods in which environmental considerations are incorporated into the science advice provided to fisheries management, with an emphasis on Atlantic Sea scallop (Placopecten Magellanicus).”
David’s publications can be found here
Meet Jordan Hawkswell!
Jordan Hawkswell brings her experience in coastal ecology, science communications, and education to the Brilliant Blue Challenge. Jordan has a passion for marine ecology and aquaculture and exploring the potential to provide sustainable opportunities for coastal communities while supporting a thriving ocean.
Jordan holds a B.Sc in Earth Science from Dalhousie University and an M.Sc in Planetary Science and Geology from Western University.
Meet Marc Trudel!
“I’m a seasoned fish ecologist with over 30 years of experience researching freshwater and marine ecosystems. My work involves using various instruments and technologies to measure chemicals, study animal behavior, examine fish distribution, and assess ocean climate and productivity. I conduct research through controlled experiments, field surveys, and complex modeling, often utilizing supercomputers. I’ve supervised students, served on scientific committees, and have a strong publication and presentation record. My educational background includes a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in biology from the Université de Montréal and a Ph.D. from McGill University. I am fluent in both French and English”
Marc’s publications can be found here: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc_Trudel2/
Meet Jennie Korus!
“I am an aquaculture scientist at Innovasea and part of the Aquaculture Intelligence team in Halifax. I have an honors degree in Marine Biology and Statistics from Dalhousie University and an advanced diploma in Ocean Technology from NSCC. I am about to complete my master’s in Oceanography at Dalhousie with a focus on fish stress and environmental challenges on aquaculture farms.”
Meet Marie-Aude Sévin!
“I initially worked in marketing and communication, but in 2009, I shifted my focus to marine environmental issues. I conducted research on marine protected areas in Madagascar with the Blue Ventures NGO, collaborated on international marine conservation objectives with organizations like IUCN and UNESCO, and held roles at the French Marine Protected Areas agency and the French Biodiversity Agency. I served as the Chair of the sea and coastal working group at the French committee of the IUCN and later joined the IUCN Centre of Mediterranean Cooperation. Currently, I lead the BlueSeeds Team, addressing conservation challenges in Mediterranean marine and coastal areas with a holistic approach.”
Meet Bonita Mathew!
Bonita Mathew is a water professional with a background in sustainable development. Having grown up in different parts of the world and with an educational background in Communications from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) and Sustainable Development from Uppsala University (Uppsala, Sweden), she focuses on the intersectional lens between environmental, social and economic sustainability.
She has built and worked on development programming to elevate Canada’s achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and enjoys engaging people on the move towards cleantech innovation and implementation.
Meet Will Musgrave!
Will Musgrave, a data enthusiast, holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics from Dalhousie University (2015) and a Masters in Science specializing in Medical Physics (2017). In academia, he researched computational methods in biophysics and high-dose radiation brachytherapy for prostate cancer. Shifting focus to data analytics, software development, and cloud system architecture, Will gained experience at resulta, JackHabbit, and Everstream Analytics. As a Scrum practitioner, he emphasizes deriving business value from innovative research, asking how cutting-edge ideas can be implemented rather than remaining in research papers.
Meet Forbah Sandra!
Forbah Sandra Ngwemetoh is a female Ocean and Youth empowerment advocate with a BSc in Environmental Science and a current Msc Student studying Disaster and Risk Management at the University of Buea Cameroon. I take interests more in the marine space, so continues to work part time with African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization as an environmental educator and technical assistant towards more engagements on the issues of climate change and its related effects on the marine ecosystems and proposing alternative livelihood activities to communities for the protection of these ecosystems.
Meet Dr. Hilary Moors-Murphy!
Dr. Hilary Moors-Murphy is a Research Scientist with Team Whale, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), based out of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. She leads a whale research and monitoring program focused on increasing our understanding of the occurrence of whales in Atlantic Canadian waters, primarily through studying their sounds. This includes using hydrophones to listen for whales all around Nova Scotia, from the coast to deep water areas at the edge of the continental shelf. Hilary is an expert on at-risk whale species off eastern Canada, including beaked whales such as the northern bottlenose whale that spends a lot of time in a deep water submarine canyon off Nova Scotia called the Gully.
Meet Dr. Amanda Babin!
Dr. Amanda Babin is an Aquatic Science Biologist with DFO. She works with Hilary as part of Team Whale, and focuses on studying baleen whale acoustics such as the calls made by blue whales. Her masters project was on how harbour porpoises are affected by underwater noise. Amanda is also an expert on salmon in freshwater as they migrate up and down rivers.
Meet Erica Dobbelsteyn!
“I was born and raised in Ontario, Canada where I completed my undergraduate degree in Child and Youth studies. I later moved to New Zealand and pursued a graduate diploma in elementary education. Between studying and working in New Zealand, my passion for all things conservation and sustainability grew as I volunteered in wildlife parks and worked as an Ocean Sustainability Educator for a non-profit. When I moved back to Canada, I was excited to call Nova Scotia home and live a life surrounded by the ocean! I now work as an environmental educator for Clean Foundation delivering school-aged programs across the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, and running a variety of different programs based on renewable energy, healthy coastlines/streams, and climate science.”
Meet Zabrina Prescott
Zabrina Prescott (she/her) is an educator who strives to spark curiosity, wonder, and awe about the natural world in youth through hands-on and inquiry-based learning. She has a master’s of science, focusing on evolutionary biology, adaptive evolution, and comparative anatomy through paleontology. Zabrina thinks that “Why?” and “How?” are the most important questions anyone can ask, and has been asking youth those very questions as a science educator for the past 15 years. Zabrina brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to learners across Nova Scotia and beyond. Her favorite part of an educational experience is seeing youth form connections between their own lives and the concepts that they’re exploring, and then supporting them as they turn those connections into action.
Meet Clark Richards
“I am a physical oceanographer who uses in situ observations to study ocean processes, specifically how heat and salt can be mixed and transported. I received my PhD from Dalhousie University, and after a postdoc in Woods Hole MA worked as a scientist in a private company that manufactured oceanographic instrumentation. As part of my research, I make use of different kinds of autonomous systems, including observatories, floats, buoys, and gliders. Along with doing science, I am have developed a number of freely available software packages for working with oceanographic data, mostly using the free and open-source R language.”
Clark’s publications can be found here:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=T4W7NdQAAAAJ&hl=en
Meet Cailin Burmaster!
Cailin, with over 5 years of experience as an autonomous vehicle technician, contributes a coast-to-coast perspective to the Brilliant Blue Challenge. A marine biology & oceanography graduate from Dalhousie University, she started in marine technology as a co-op student with Slocum and Wave gliders. Over the past 5 years, Cailin has worked with various gliders off Canada’s Pacific coast, initiated a Slocum glider program in the Great Lakes, and currently operates uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) for Open Ocean Robotics in Victoria, BC. Beyond her work with ocean robots, she has a background in science education, outreach, and mentorship, having engaged with organizations like The Whale Camp and Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. Cailin is passionate about providing marine science education to learners of all ages.
Meet Steve Hall!
Since 1986, Steve Hall has immersed himself in ocean science, technology, and policy. With a degree in Maritime Geography, he started with a survey company in Wales and later worked with HM Customs & Excise. Joining the UK Natural Environment Research Council in 1990, he managed the Autosub AUV science missions program. His career transitioned into policy in 2006, where he drafted responses on diverse topics, from decommissioning nuclear submarines to marine spatial management. Steve played a significant role in UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, later becoming its Vice Chair in 2015. In 2017, he moved to the private sector, serving as CEO of the Society for Underwater Technology. Since 2022, Steve has been a self-employed consultant, primarily working for the Nippon Foundation / GEBCO Seabed 2030 project and clients in marine technology, defense, law, policy, and governance.
Meet Nathan Tom!
Nathan joined NREL in May 2014 after receiving his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. While at NREL, Nathan has been on several international projects which include WEC-Sim code development and as an organizer for the Wave Energy Converter Control Competition. Currently Nathan is the principle investigator on a U.S. Department of Energy sponsored project that extends the concept of controllable geometries to new wave energy converter architectures. In this project, Nathan leads a group of four researchers to explore the coupling between the device hydrodynamic, structural, and control design to demonstrate the economic feasibility of this next-generation technology. Recently Nathan has joined the U.S. working group for the IEC TC114 standards development and sits on the shadow committee for MT62600–2 and -100. Nathan also assists in the development of educational material to support the future workforce development needs for the offshore renewable sector.
Nathan’s publications can be found here:
https://www.nrel.gov/research/staff/nathan-tom.html
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-tom-170a1112
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z9Qo6CsAAAAJ&hl=en
Meet Sandra Currie
“I have worked in Tidal Energy since 2015 at Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy. Nova Scotia’s test and demonstration project for Tidal Stream Energy.”
Join our Wave!
The Brilliant Blue Challenge is not just a competition; it’s a journey that promises to shape the next generation of ocean innovators. By raising awareness, fostering skills, and providing real-world connections, this initiative seeks to inspire young minds to become advocates for the oceans. As we venture into this exciting endeavor, we anticipate a brighter future where the limitless potential of the blue economy is harnessed for the benefit of both humanity and our planet. Together, let’s explore, innovate, and protect our oceans for generations to come. To learn more, check out the competition’s webpage or register to save your spot for the opening cermonies starting at 9:30am (AST) / 13:30 (UCT) December 16, 2023.
Follow the Brilliant Blue Competition Facebook to find more teams, videos and stories.
