NURP/NIUST Director Awarded
Bennett Distinguished Professorship
This story entered on 30th Oct, 2007 05:45:01 AM PST
The University of Southern Mississippi College of
Science and Technology has announced that Dr. Vernon Asper, professor
in the Department of Marine Science and NOAAS Undersea Research
Program (NURP), National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology
(NIUST), Undersea Vehicle Technology Center Director, is the recipient
of the T. W. Bennett Jr. Distinguished Professorship in the Sciences
award.
The Bennett Distinguished Professorship is awarded every two years
to an exceptional professor in the sciences. The awarded professor
will receive a total of $40,000 over the course of two years. The
funds from the professorship are used to provide research assistance,
clerical support, equipment, travel and to sponsor a symposium.
The Bennett Distinguished Professorship not only recognizes the
awarded professors teaching and research, but also services
performed outside of the university. Asper has recently been elected
as the chair-elect of University Oceanographic Laboratory System,
a nationwide organization that manages all of the large research
ships which operate all over the world.
Specializing in ocean research, Asper has been working on a five-year
study in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. During the study, he traveled
to Antarctica twice each year to perform his research. Aspers
research in the Antarctic is important because climate changes
are emphasized at high latitude, so in the Antarctic, youll
see bigger changes and youll see them sooner than you would
anywhere else.
Aspers most recent trip was a 16-day cruise on the NOAA ship
Ronald H. Brown. The purpose of the cruise was to measure the bathymetry,
or depth of the water, in the Hudson Canyon, located east of Atlantic
City, N.J., using the NURP/NIUST Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV),
Eagle Ray. The AUV is able to go down to 2,200 meters,
said Asper. All we do is program it, put it in the water and then
it goes out and does its work.
More information: http://www.mississippi.edu/system_review_newsletter/system_review_10_05_07.html
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