Student Blogs & Vignettes

Steven Paul

ABOUT MY RESEARCH

I am a pursuing my master’s degree working under Dr. Alastair Graham. I completed my bachelor’s at Eckerd College, graduating in 2020 with a degree in marine science. My research interests include hydrography, general ocean mapping, geophysics, and seafloor environments.

This summer I began a paper on the topic of unmanned surface vehicles. These are autonomy boats varying in size, that as the name suggests, can run without a crew on board. Further, these vehicles are generally capable of running without any remote human interaction as well. The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of the unmanned surface vehicles and to provide a sort of synthesis of USV information already published.

Why USF CMS?

I chose CMS for the weather, of course! Beside the beautiful weather, rapidly growing downtown, and nearby beaches, CMS is well known for its research opportunities. I came to USF to be a part of the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT). I look forward to being involved with the partnership between USF and NOAA as this project moves forward.

USF having not one, but two research vessels is another reason I choose to attend. I have previously been on research cruises on the R/V Hogarth and the R/V Weatherbird II and was very impressed with the vessels. Beyond the ships, USF CMS has a small student to faculty ratio which is something I was looking for. Finally, most students graduating from CMS get jobs in their field of study.