The well-attended recent AGM of The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) saw the announcement of newly appointed SUT Officers for the Learned Society; notification of elected Fellows from the UK, Australia and the USA; and Awards made both in the year under review and of the prestigious President’s Award announced at the AGM. It was followed by a stimulating talk on The Crown Estate Marine Delivery Routemap by Alex Thompson Strategic Delivery Senior Manager at The Crown Estate.
SUT’S Chief Executive, Cheryl Burgess explained: With Benj Sykes, Country Manager of Ørsted now in his second year as President, Mike Fearn of Bluefield Geoservices Limited becomes Chair; the Honorary Secretary is Dave Brookes of St Jules; and Gehrig Schulz of EPI is now the SUT’s Hon Treasurer. [Note to Editors: pen portraits of each and of the new Fellows are at the end of this release]
“The SUT’s new Fellows are Karen Seath, Decommissioning and Salvage SIG (UK); Paul Upjohn, Perth Branch (Australia); and three Members from the Houston, Texas Branch: Colin Johnston, Luz Zarate, and Patricia Varela. Having both completed terms on Council after serving as President, Judith Patten and Ralph Rayner are now Hon Fellows”
The winner of the President’s Award, John Sharp, announced at the AGM, is Professor John Sharp , who was unable to be at the meeting but said: “I was honoured to receive the 2024 SUT Presidents award for my work with the SUT Marine Renewable Energies Committee as its chairman, a role I have had for a number of years.
“The Committee has continued to succeed with regular presentations and has recently expanded its scope to include floating wind and more recently floating solar, as both have common technologies with offshore renewables such as wave and tidal energy. I have particularly welcomed the opportunity to support the newly formed SUT marine renewable energy committees in the USA and Perth, Australia. As a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University, I have been able to be involved in training young students who have gone onto careers in the marine renewables energy industry.”
AGM attendees were reminded of SUT Award winners during the year under review:
- Professor Peter Girguis won the Captain Don Walsh Award for Exploration, a joint award with MTS:
- Prof Deborah Greaves, University of Plymouth and SuperGen won the Lennard Senior Prize:
- Dr Philippe Jeanjean, BP won the Mick Cook Award for Significant Contribution to Marine Site Investigation and Characterisation :
- Jonas Wüst of Tethys Robotics was the winner of the Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award:
Comments from some of the 2023-4 Award Winners
Mick Cook Award for Significant Contribution to Marine Site Investigation and Characterisation, Philippe Jeanjean, Senior Advisor, Geotechnical Engineering at BP said:
- “What a great surprise and privilege! This is a great and truly unexpected honour. Thank you very much to the committee for selecting me.”
A distinguished expert with over 30 years at BP/Amoco, Philippe has significantly advanced offshore foundations and geotechnical engineering through leadership in professional organisations and over 60 technical publications.
The Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award winner Jonas Wüst of Tethys Robotics said:
- “Thank you so much – this truly honours me and reflects what we as a team have achieved over the past few years (and we’re just getting started!)”
Terry Sloane Managing Director of Planet Ocean and ecoSUB Robotics and a member of SUT’s Underwater Robotics Committee said:
- “Anyone who can get an AUV to navigate in a river deserves an award!.”
While Gwyn Griffiths said
- “Jonas and Tethys Robotics – what audacity! Not content with facing and overcoming challenges in underwater robotics for fast-flowing rivers, their innovations in autonomous navigation and real-time mapping also allow operation in minimal visibility. I commend Jonas and Tethys on their exemplary originality and strategic vision so early in their underwater vehicle venture.”
Further information on the SUT
Full information on the SUT is available at www.sut.org. The Learned Society has both individual, corporate and student members. SUT Individual membership is £82 per year (including branch membership). the student membership is £15. To join visit www.sut.org/sut-membership/application-for-membership/ or e-mail jane.hinton@sut.org
