ASL appointed Dr. Steve Pearce to the position of acoustics scientist. Pearce brings more than a decade of experience in underwater acoustics R&D to the ASL team. He earned his Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University in 2014, where his studies focused on sidescan sonar signal processing to suppress multipath interference in the context of a multi-angle swath bathymetry array. The key contributions of his thesis were the introduction and analysis of simple and effective beamforming methods applied in a novel context. These methods are designed to attenuate multipath interference while preserving the seafloor return. The effectiveness of these methods was established through theory, simulation and numerous field studies.

Prior to joining ASL, Pearce was a system engineer at Kongsberg Mesotech and managed projects relating to singlebeam and multibeam sonar systems. At Mesotech, Pearce gained valuable experience in many aspects of the product lifecycle, including requirements gathering and refinement; hardware and software design; design verification and field testing; manufacturing; and customer support.

In his new role at ASL, Pearce will be involved in the design of new underwater acoustics products. It is expected that he will become the product manager for the acoustic zooplankton fish profiler (AZFP) and will accept the responsibilities presently fulfilled by David Lemon. As part of this role, Pearce will assist with data processing and will coordinate customer support inquiries. —ASL Environmental Sciences