Or click the alternate button below to use Windows Media Player: (1.2MBK)

Question 4 transcript:
"Really we use sonar as a technology or as a device to look for whales. And sonar really is Mother nature's invention. Dolphins, bats, for instance, use sonar, which is also called echolocation. Where the animal emits a sound, the sound travels and comes back, and the animal measures the time it takes to go out and come back, and that's related to the distance that the target is at, whether it be a fish for the dolphin or the whale for obstacle avoidance sonar. And we just tried to copy Mother Nature. And sonar is actually a very old technology. It was really first invented by humans in response to the Titanic hitting the iceberg. There were two patents that came out right after the Titanic hit the iceberg, one in England and one in the United States, and so its sort of wrapped up with ocean technology."

1. How did you first become interested in science?
2. What is the focus of your research and why did you choose this field of study?
3. What have been some of the recent discoveries in obstacle avoidance and navigation?
4. How do you use acoustics to detect and avoid underwater obstacles?
5. What challenges have you faced in studying obstacle avoidance?
6. What has most surprised you about avoiding obstacles and navigating?
7. What skills are important in your area of research?
8. What are the opportunities in ocean engineering? Can people without PhD's participate in some way in this type of research?
9. What is the greatest impact/relevance of your research?
10. What continues to inspire you about your work?
11. What advice would you give a high school student who expressed an interst in pursuing a career in your field?