December 2016 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 9. Waterfront News


MMA Academic Achievement Awards Honor Student Scholars and Faculty CASTINE, Maine—Maine Maritime Academy’s annual Academic Achievement Awards banquet was held on Thursday eve- ning, November 10th, to honor the scholarly accomplishments of students and the service of faculty.


Scheel Scholars


The late Henry A. Scheel of Rockport, Maine was one of America’s most respect- ed naval architects and yacht designers. During his long and distinguished career, Mr. Scheel produced more than 250 com- plete designs which have been utilized by builders of sailboats and other craft in the U.S. and Europe. To express his high regard for Maine Maritime Academy, Mr. Scheel left funds in 1994 to permanently endow scholarships for students in the three upper classes who best exemplify intellectual curiosity and achievement. The ten Scheel Scholars honored on Thursday include: Spencer Boonstra, Class of 2017, a Marine Engineering Technology major from Am- ston, Connecticut; Michael Casey, Class of 2018, a Marine Engineering Operations major from Bucksport, Maine; Huxley Conner, Class of 2018, a Marine Science major from Madison, Connecticut; Connor


M A I N E M A R I T I M E A C A D E M Y N E W S professor:


Daugherty, Class of 2018, a Marine Biology major from Charlo, Montana; Gregory Duff , Class of 2017, a Power Engineering Tech- nology major from Bangor, Maine; Shana Grimes, Class of 2018, a Vessel Operations & Technology major from Gloucester, Massachusetts; Rylee Knox, Class of 2018, a Marine Systems Engineering major from Turner, Maine; Caroline Martin, Class of 2017, a Marine Transportation Operations major from Scarborough, Maine; Mason Whitaker, Class of 2019, an International Business & Logistics major from Westport Island, Maine; Erik Young, Class of 2018, a Power Engineering Operations major from Howland, Maine. American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Scholars


ABS, a leading international classi-


fi cation society, is devoted to promoting the security of life, property and the ma- rine environment, primarily through the establishment and verifi cation of technical and engineering standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of ships and marine-related facilities. The ABS Scholarship is awarded to deserving engineering and naval architecture students. Recipients of this prestigious academic award receive a scholarship in each of the


Woods Hole Studies Whale Songs Researchers have known for decades


that whales create elaborate songs, some- times projecting their calls for miles under- water. A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), how- ever, has revealed a previously unknown element of whale songs that could aid this mode of communication, and may play a pivotal role in locating other whales in open ocean. In a paper published in the November 2


issue of the online journal Biology Letters, WHOI biologist Aran Mooney describes approaching a group of humpback whales off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Maui. From aboard small research boat, he and his team measured two components of the whales’ songs—pressure waves (the type of sound wave that pushes on human eardrums, allowing us to hear), and particle motion (the physical vibration of a substance as sound moves through it). Surprisingly, he notes, particle motion in the water propagated much further than expected. “We threw our gear over the side, and


let ourselves drift away from whales while measuring both particle motion and sound pressure. We didn’t expect particle motion to be projected much at all—just a few meters away at most. But as we got progressively further away, the particle motion stayed loud and clear,” he says. The group measured only as far as 200


meters from the whales, but their data shows that this particle motion, especially in lower frequencies of sound, could travel much further than the distance recorded. “It’s a whole other avenue of sound that we never knew whales could use,” he notes. To envision the diff erence between


these two modes of sound, Mooney says, imagine pulling up next to a car blasting loud music. “The stuff you hear is pressure waves; the stuff you feel vibrating your seat is particle motion,” he adds. “When it comes to whale songs, particle motion hasn’t really been studied much. It’s a lot more complex to measure than pressure waves, so we don’t have a great sense of how it propagates in water or air.” Pressure waves are relatively simple


to detect using specialized underwater mi- crophone called a “hydrophone”—a type of sensor that has been sold commercially for


fi nal two years of their studies at MMA. They are also provided the opportunity to complete an internship at ABS. ABS awarded scholarships to these out-


standing MMA Marine Systems Engineer- ing students in 2016: Catherine Bailey, from Scarborough, Maine, Class of 2017; Jeremy Beaulieu, from Hermon, Maine, Class of 2018; William Easley, from Niceville, Flor- ida, Class of 2017; Michael Granger, from Saco, Maine, Class of 2017; Jared Hall, from North Granby, Connecticut, Class of 2017; Rylee Knox, from Turner, Maine, Class of 2018; Jacques Lussier, from Grov- eland, Massachusetts, Class of 2017; Brady MacLeod, from Bucksport, Maine, Class of 2017; Liam O’Leary, from Stratford, Con- necticut, Class of 2017; Elin Sonesson, from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Class of 2017; Alex Warner, from East Haven, Connecticut, Class of 2017.


Mitchell Scholars The Mitchell Institute awards more than


decades. Detecting particle motion, howev- er, requires sensitive underwater acceler- ometers, which until recently have not been widely available to researchers. Mooney and his team, however, had both sensors on hand for an unrelated study in the area, allowing them to collect these unexpected recordings. Mooney is quick to note that his team


didn’t gather enough data to say defi nitively whether these whales could sense the parti- cle motion present, but the anatomy of whale ear bones suggests that low-frequency vibration could be a major element of their hearing.


Unlike dolphins and toothed whales,


humpback whale ear bones are fused to the animals’ skull, providing a direct link to any sort of vibration in the water column. “This could mean that their hearing is infl uenced by the way sound conducts through their bones,” he says. “It raises the question: does a whale’s lower jaw act like a tuning fork to direct vibrations to their ears? Previous papers have shown this bone conduction might be a viable mode of hearing.” From an evolutionary standpoint, he


adds, there’s some precedence for this sort of vibratory hearing. Although most mammals sense sound via pressure waves in their eardrums, the closest living relative to whales—hippopotamuses—are known to sense sound underwater using their bod- ies, even while their ears remain above the surface. Elephants, another close relative to whales, can pick up ultra-low frequency vibrations through their feet, a trait that may help them locate their herd from miles away. Although Mooney’s fi ndings open the


door for a range of evolutionary questions, he notes that it raises a much more imme- diate concern. If whales can in fact sense particle motion, similar vibrations caused by humans might interfere with the way the giant animals communicate. “Most human-made noise in the ocean


low frequency, and the level of sound is dou- bling every decade,” he says. Mining and construction, such as pile-driving machin- ery, is also increasing, contributing low-fre- quency particle motion that might propagate for miles underwater. “We overlook noise in the ocean, but it’s very relevant cue for marine animals,” Mooney adds. “This could be a major concern for whales.”


130 scholarships each year, one to a gradu- ating senior from every public high school in Maine. Selection is based on academic potential, community impact, and fi nancial need. Since 1995, the Institute has awarded more than 2,500 scholarships totaling over $13 million. With the Mitchell Scholarship comes an array of personal, academic, and professional support programs, as well as a network of more than 2,500 Mitchell Schol- ars, Alumni, and partners. Mitchell Scholars recognized on Thursday evening include: Tristan Albert, Class of 2017, a Marine Engi- neering Operations major from Gouldsboro, Maine; Carter DeRedin, Class of 2019, a Marine Engineering Technology major from Bucksport, Maine; Darren Devost, Class of 2019, a Marine Systems Engineering major from Madawaska, Maine; Jamie Gaughan, Class of 2019, a Marine Transportation Op- erations major from West Baldwin, Maine; Hunter Giacomuzzi, Class of 2020, a Ma- rine Transportation Operations major from Sebec, Maine; Kyle Ham, Class of 2020, a Power Engineering Technology major from Stetson, Maine; Jordan Hanscom, Class of 2018, an International Business & Logistics major from Lee, Maine; Caroline Martin, Class of 2017, a Marine Transpor- tation Operations major from Scarborough, Maine; Melinda Ogden, Class of 2020, an International Business & Logistics major from Winterport, Maine; Taylor Roy, Class of 2018, a Marine Engineering Technology major from Waterville, Maine; Nicholas Simmons, Class of 2017, a Marine Engi- neering Operations major from Scarbor- ough, Maine; Brandon St. Germain, Class of 2019, a Marine Engineering Operations major from Ellsworth, Maine; Everett Web- ster, Class of 2019, a Marine Engineering Technology major from Vinalhaven, Maine. Faculty Achievement


Three faculty members were also honored on Thursday for promotion to full


Captain Ralph H. Pundt is a Professor


in the Marine Transportation Operations de- partment. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from MMA in 1977 and throughout his career has sailed on tankers, bulk carri- ers, RORO and break bulk ships. He retired from his seagoing career as captain in 1998 and has been teaching at MMA since 1999, and maintains an unlimited USCG Master’s license.


George L. Schatz is a Professor in


the undergraduate and graduate programs at Maine Maritime’s Loeb Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics. He earned a BA in economics from Moorhead State College (now Minnesota State Univer- sity Moorhead) and his third mate unlimited license for oceans in 1982 as well as Mas- ter’s degrees in economics and fi nance. His primary teaching areas are economics and fi nance.


Mark M. Shaughnessy, Professor of


Business, teaches accounting, fi nance, and marketing in the undergraduate and grad- uate programs at Maine Maritime’s Loeb Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics. After earning his MBA from Babson College, he worked for fi ve years for a Boston-based CPA fi rm as an auditor and fi nancial consultant. Later, ran a variety of retail, wholesale and importing businesses, primarily in the outdoor sports industry. He is currently licensed as a CPA in the State of Maine and is a Chartered Global Manage- ment Accountant.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31