Alex López was one of three faculty speakers for OTEAR’s “Inclusive Practices Spotlight: Strategies from Rutgers’ Instructors” workshop this Friday, highlighting the value of student-led learning and sharing implementation strategies used in the MS of Operational Oceanography degree program. Faculty across Rutgers are incorporating various strategies to create inclusive learning environments for their students. This session spotlighted just a few of those instructors to explain what and how they have implemented.
Friday afternoon, the MOO students prepared and deployed a Sofar Spotter buoy in the boat basin of the Rutgers University Marine Field Station with the help of Roland Hagan. The Spotter was awarded to Prof. Travis Miles as part of the Bristlemouth Pioneer Program. The solar-powered Spotter buoy makes direct observations of wave spectra, wind, and atmospheric pressure; near-real time data from this Spotter buoy can be seen at this link. The MOO students thank everyone involved in realizing this opportunity and look forward to the data! Photo credit: Sophie Scopazzi
Masters of Operational Oceanography students deployed RU23 out of Tuckerton yesterday. Scott is pictured here, but Trivik, Nick and Capt Chip were on board as well in the foul weather. Nice Job crew! The MOOO (Masters of Operational Oceanography) crew was at it again today working with Captain Chip on a glider, CTD, side scan sonar, Sofar Spotter Buoy and Seaber AUV. Busy day for Trivik, Nick, Sophie and Sal.
MS of Operational Oceanography (MOO) students recently visited Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) in Monroe, NJ to learn about OPT’s diverse marine technologies and their applications. The visit was hosted by Maria Force, Jeremiah Mendez, Ariana Dyer (a Rutgers ’23 alum), and Luis Cartagena-Soto, who provided an informative tour of the facility. During the tour, our hosts detailed the company’s mission and history, as well as the various operational capabilities of their versatile WAM-V autonomous surface vehicles and their wave-powered PowerBuoy platforms. The MOO students, as well as everyone at RUCOOL, express their gratitude to everyone at OPT for the valuable opportunity to engage and gain insights into their field.
Students from the RUCOOL Masters in Operational Oceanography installed and configured a 5 MHz High Frequency radar in Sea Bright, NJ this past week. The students installed the SeaSonde radar and configured the antenna pattern kit and communication router. The data was flowing a few hours after they arrived. This radar is being operated as part of the Mid Atlantic Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS). Rutgers would like to thank John Lamia and Joe Verruni from Sea Bright for providing access to the beach.
The 2023-2024 class of the Masters in Operational Oceanography program just completed the High Frequency Radar module of their Field Lab Methods course. The week covered an introduction to oceanographic measurements with High Frequency radar and an overview of ocean observing for New Jersey and the Mid Atlantic. The students made a field trip to the radar stations in Bradley Beach and Sea Bright, NJ. Guest speakers for the course included Dr. Brian Emery from University of California Santa Barbara and Mr. Chad Whelan CEO of CODAR Ocean Sensors. Thanks to Mr. Ethan Handel and Mr. Tim Stolarz who helped provide content to the course.
Following the Fall mission of RU23 by the MOO students along the Rutgers Endurance Line out of RUMFS, the students have successfully deployed, piloted, and recovered RU23 for a Spring mission. This allows for a seasonal comparison of the NJ shelf waters and served as vital experience of working with operational technologies as part of an ocean observing lab. These two deployments are the foundation of a new student-led sampling effort along this transect over subsequent cohorts of MOO students – an opportunity unique to the MSc. of Operational Oceanography program of Rutgers University. In line with this effort, MOO Program Advisor Alexander López has been selected to be in the 2023-24 cohort of the Provost’s Teaching Fellows. Chancellor-Provost Conway initiated the Teaching Fellows Program in 2021 to support faculty excellence and pedagogical innovation aimed at improving student learning outcomes through the adoption of new practices and redesigned courses. The program is a collaboration between the Chancellor Provost Office and the Office for Teaching Evaluation and Assessment Research (OTEAR). Moving forward, this exciting experiential learning opportunity and research effort will be incorporated into the fall curricula. The Endurance Line has been sampled for decades by COOL across various grants and projects, and now the MOO students will lead the effort across cohorts, monitoring the real-time seasonal dynamics and changes to the NJ shelf waters.