MTS Elects Four to Board of Directors

Toll Elected President, Kocak Elected President-­Elect, Clark and Montague Elected Vice Presidents

The Marine Technology Society (MTS) is pleased to announce the results of its recent elections for positions on its Board of Directors. Ray Toll was newly elected as President, Donna Kocak as President-­‐Elect, Andrew (Andy) Clark as Vice President of Industry and Technology, and Erika Montague as Vice President of Publications. Election results were announced during the MTS Annual Meeting, which took place during the OCEANS’14 MTS/IEEE Conference this month in St. John’s, NL, CA September 15-­‐ 18, 2014. All will assume their new positions January 1, 2015.

Ray Toll brings an extensive background in marine technology to his new position as MTS President, including 26 years in Naval Oceanography, serving in technical and leadership positions including Commanding Officer of Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center in San Diego, CA, and Director of Oceanography for Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, VA. After retirement, he worked for SAIC as Program Manager for NASA Langley, and as NOAA Account Manager, providing leadership, program management and direction to the company's earth science thrust in air, water and climate. In this capacity, he worked with NOAA and 17 Federal Partners to advance the President’s Ocean Commission’s thrust for a national integrated ocean observing system at the federal and regional level. Last summer, he joined the Old Dominion University where he enjoys working with students, and is in the process of creating the campus’s first MTS student section. Toll most recently served MTS as Vice President of Industry and Technology.

Donna Kocak has served MTS in numerous positions prior to her election as President-­‐Elect, including MTS Vice President of Publications, Chair of the Ocean Observing Systems and Underwater Imaging Committees, as well as the Society’s Editorial and International Committees. She has over 25 years experience in the ocean engineering field supporting design, development and testing of various projects as well as starting a small business to develop software for underwater video/laser imaging systems. In her present position as Advanced Programs Engineer at HARRIS Corporation’s Government Communications Systems Division, Kocak is spearheading maritime projects with industry, government and academia. She holds three Master’s Degrees and was named the Space Coast Society of Women Engineers’ “2012 Outstanding Woman Engineer.”

Andrew (Andy) Clark brings wide-­‐ranging experience to his position as Vice President, Industry and Technology. His maritime career began in 1974 in the Gulf of Mexico’s oilfields. In 1979, he was awarded one of Ed Link’s internships at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and stayed on until 1998, succeeding Link as Director of Engineering Research and Development. Clark left HBOI to found HARRIS Corporation’s Maritime Communications (now HARRIS CapRock) and served as its first President. Appointed by NOAA in 2005 as Industry Liaison for the National Office of Ocean Observation, he led the national effort to engage industry with US-­‐IOOS. In 2008 he founded and served as CEO of CSnet International, designing and deploying international seafloor sensor networks. Currently Trustee of Florida Institute of Technology, the Link Foundation and Board of Florida Atlantic University, he’s been awarded U.S. and International Patents for ROV systems, the Lockheed-­‐ Martin Award for Science and Technology, and the Compass Distinguished Achievement Award. He serves on the U.S. National Committee to the United Nations (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Newly elected Vice President, Publications, Erika Montague holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography from John Hopkins University, as well as an MS and BS from California Polytechnic State University -­‐ San Luis Obispo. As Director of Science and Technology at OceanGate, Inc., she has over 15 years of experience in research with the use of submersibles, ROVs and deep-­‐sea landers for numerous oceanographic expeditions around the globe. She serves as the chief scientist and project manager for research and development, assisting clients with the implementation of existing and new technologies to meet their specific needs. Montague worked as a fellow in the Engineering Division at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where she managed the development of several custom monitoring systems. Prior to MBARI, Montague was a researcher at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) where she supervised the design and maintenance of the autonomous deep-­‐sea observatory Eye-­‐in-­‐the-­‐Sea (EITS), and led cruises to study bioluminescent life forms and test underwater technologies. Montague currently serves as the chair of the Ocean Exploration Committee.

The Marine Technology Society is a non-­profit international community of ocean engineers, technologists, policy-­‐makers and educators that provides the ocean community with forums for the exchange of information and ideas through international conferences, its peer-­‐reviewed MTS Journal, newsletters and website (www.MTSociety.org).

Contact: Rich Lawson, Marine Technology Executive Director, 202-­‐717-­‐8705, ext. 100 Rich.Lawson@MTSociety.org