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Over 200 UTIC Members Complete Professional Development Course on Sonar,
Underwater Sounds and Undersea Systems
Middletown, RI- The Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC) collaborated with the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) College of Engineering and Raytheon, an RTX business, to provide UTIC members with a free professional development course on sonar, underwater sounds and undersea systems (OCE 592). Over 200 UTIC members completed the course, which ran from January through April of 2024.
“One of the many benefits of UTIC membership is access to professional development opportunities like this sonar course. The success of any defense tech business is contingent on the ability of the organization’s leadership and workforce to stay up to date on technological advancements and modern scientific principles,” stated UTIC Chief Executive Officer Molly Donohue Magee. “UTIC is committed to working with industry partners like URI and Raytheon to make professional development opportunities abundant and accessible for our members."
The genesis of the training came from Dr. John Short, a renowned sonar technology expert, who previously was the Undersea Systems Technical Director at Raytheon and a Department of Navy Senior Executive at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport. Dr. Short sees this effort as an important knowledge transfer opportunity for the current and future workforce.
"My goal in developing this course was to help the next generation of sonar and undersea system, engineers and scientists mature their capabilities and thought processes plus support the overall community's growth and understanding as to what it takes to execute a successful undersea program or project. The feedback from students has been rewarding," stated Dr. Short.
"Principles of Sonar, Underwater Sound, and Undersea Systems is not your typical graduate level course. With the collaboration between skilled individuals with experience in different sub-fields of ocean engineering, several lectures catering to individuals in management positions, and practice problems that are derived from real world sonar design projects, this course provides you with the foundation necessary to be successful when designing and working with undersea technology,” said Jade Lopez Case, Teaching Assistant for this course and University of Rhode Island Sound propagation Lecturer and Ocean Engineering PhD Student.
“This was an excellent course for Technical Managers and Graduate students seeking a thorough introduction to undersea acoustics. Using real world examples of naval systems, the instructors were able to show immediate relevance of course topics to current design issues faced by naval engineers,” added Ronald M. Carvalho Jr., Associate Director, Advanced Technology-Sensors at Raytheon.
This opportunity provided options for managers, business leaders, scientists and engineers to sharpen their knowledge and skills on the ever-changing landscape of underwater sonar and its related scientific principles.
The course featured a high-level introduction to sonar systems, the scientific principles governing sonar, the physics behind sonar systems and calculations with the sonar equation.
“Principles of SONAR, Underwater Sound, and Undersea Systems has been an incredibly beneficial course for my PhD in Ocean Engineering,” said Breanna Motsenbocker, URI PhD student in Ocean Engineering, “This course has been especially useful for becoming familiar with various needs, applications, and limitations of current SONAR systems and how I as an engineer can design and utilize these systems for optimal performance. These skills are vital for my future work and will make me a better asset to the industry of ocean engineering.”
“This course has provided me with a solid understanding of the complexities of sonar design, undersea physics and propagation theory, and undersea systems engineering design principles and tradeoffs. The knowledge and insight I have gained from this course will translate to continued growth in my career,” added Hanna Desilets, Employee at Raytheon/Non-matriculating student taking the course for credit.
UTIC also provides scholarship opportunities and workforce prize challenges.
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