Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography

The Acoustical Society of America announces the availability of a prize to honor continuing research accomplishments of young and mid- career scientists in Acoustical Oceanography.

Consideration will be given to individuals whose work demonstrates the candidate’s effective use of sound in the discovery and understanding of physical and biological parameters and processes in the sea.

For the purposes of this Prize, research based solely on computer models will not be accepted as a substitute for ocean experiments or effective, small-scale laboratory models and experiments.

The applicant or nominee need not be a member of the Acoustical Society of America. Application/nomination information

Medwin Prize Recipients:

2024

Dr. Julien Bonnel

2023

Dr. David Barclay

2022

Not Awarded

2021

Dr. Ana Širović

2020

Dr. Kelly Benoit-Bird
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute – Monterey, CA

Dr. Benoit-Bird was the 2020 recipient of the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography.  Dr. Benoit-Bird’s citation was for contributions to understanding marine organism foraging ecology using novel acoustic analysis and her prize lecture will be deliveered at the 2020 Fall meeting, virtually everywhere.

2019

Dr. Chen-Fen Huang
National Taiwan University – Taiwan

Dr. Huang was the 2019 recipient of the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography. Prof. Huang’s citation was for novel experimentation, signal processing, and modeling related to tomographic mapping of ocean currents and geoacoustic inversion, and her prize lecture will be delivered at the 2019 Fall meeting in San Diego, CA.

2018

Dr. Ying-Tsong Lin
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – Woods Hole, MA

In 2018, Dr. Lin was awarded the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography. Dr. Lin’s citation was for fundamental advances in 3-D shallow water acoustics and applications to geo acoustic inversion and marine mammal acoustics, and his prize lecture was titled “Three-dimensional shallow water sound propagation and applications toward acoustical oceanography.“

2017

Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds
The University of New Hampshire – Durham, NH

In 2017 the Medwin Prize was awarded to Dr. Jennifer Miksis–Olds for her ocean acoustic field work and analyses leading to a better understanding of marine life and ecosystems.  Her prize lecture was titled “Exploring ocean ecosystems and dynamics through sound.“

2016

Dr. Thomas Weber
The University of New Hampshire – Durham, NH

The 2016 Medwin Prize was awarded to Dr. Thomas Weber for his work on acoustic propagation and scattering in fluids containing gas bubbles, the application of acoustic technologies to fisheries science, high-frequency acoustic characterization of the seafloor, and sonar engineering. His prize lecture was titled “Acoustic observations and characterization of oceanic methane gas bubbles rising from the seabed.“

2015

Dr. Karim Sabra
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology — Atlanta, GA

In 2015, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Karim Sabra for his contributions to the development of ambient noise inversion techniques.  Dr. Sabra presented a lecture entitled “Monitoring deep ocean temperatures using low-frequency ambient noise.“

2014

Dr. Andone Lavery
Applied Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — Woods Hole, MA

In 2013, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Andone Lavery of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for her work on ocean colour.  Dr. Lavery presenter the AO Prize Lecture entitled “Advances in remote inference of physical and biological parameters using acoustic scattering techniques: Mapping the ocean in broadband “color”.“

2013

Dr. Philippe Roux
Institute of Earth Sciences (ISterre), University Joseph Fourier — Grenoble, France

In 2013, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Philippe Roux of ISterre, University Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France, for his research on acoustical tomography in shallow water. Dr. Roux presented the AO Prize Lecture at the Montreal Meeting entitled “Acoustical tomography in the shallow water ocean: Dream or reality?“.

2012

Dr. John Colosi
Department of Oceanography, Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Monterey, CA

In 2012, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to John Colosi of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, CA, for his research on ocean internal waves as they relate to sound fluctuations in the sea. Dr. Colosi presented the AO Prize Lecture at the Kansas Meeting.

2011

Dr. Aaron Thode
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego — San Diego, CA

In 2011, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Aaron Thode of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, CA, for his research on marine mammal acoustics. Dr. Thode presented the AO Prize Lecture (Seattle Meeting) entitled, “Skipping stones along the boundary between marine mammal acoustics and acoustical oceanography”.

 

2009

Dr. Martin Siderius
Portland State Univeristy, NEAR-Lab — Portland, OR

In 2009, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Martin Siderius of Portland State University, Portland OR, for his research on geoacoustic inversion, ambient noise, and acoustic communications. Dr. Siderius presented the AO Prize Lecture (Portland Meeting) entitled, “Seabed characterization and model based processing: Past, present, and future”.

 

2008

Dr. Mark V. Trevorrow
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences — Canada

In 2008, the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanograpy was awarded to Mark Treverrow of the Defence R&D Canada, Dartmouth, NS Canada. Dr. Trevorrow presented the AO Prize Lecture (Paris Meeting) entitled, “The use of moored inverted echosounders for monitoring near-surface processes”.

 

2007

Dr. Brian Dushaw
University of Washington, Applied Physical Laboratory — Seattle, WA

The 2007 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Brian Dushaw of the University of Washington, Applied Physical Laboratory, Seattle, for his research on acoustic tomography to measure temperature change in the ocean. Dr. Dushaw presented the AO Prize Lecture (Salt Lake City Meeting) entitled, “The recent history of our understanding of low-mode internal tides in the ocean.””

 

2006

Dr. John Horne
University of the Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Science — Seattle, WA

The 2006 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to John Horne of the University of the Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, Seattle, “for research on the acoustic identification of fish species and applications to fisheries resource management.” Dr. Horne presented a highly entertaining Medwin Prize Lecture (Providence Meeting) entitled “Acoustic species identification: When biology collides with physics.”

 

2005

Dr. Svein Vagle
Institute of Ocean Sciences in Victoria — Canada

Dr. Vagle was selected as the as the recipient of the 2005 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography from the Acoustical Society of America. He received the Prize for “development of experimental techniques to probe the upper ocean boundary layer.” His Medwin Prize Lecture (Vancouver Meeting) was titled “Acoustic explorations of the upper ocean boundary layer.”

 

2004

Dr. Stan Dosso
University of Victoria — Canada

Dr. Dosso was selected as the recipient of the 2004 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography from the Acoustical Society of America. He received the Prize for “the development of non-linear methods for geoacoustic inversion and acoustic localization.” His Medwin Prize Lecture (New York Meeting) was titled “Ocean acoustic inversion for seabed geoacoustic properties.”

 

2003

Dr. Jeffrey A. Nystuen
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington — Seattle, WA

Dr. Nystuen was selected as the recipient of the 2003 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography from the Acoustical Society of America. He received the Prize for the development and effective use of measurements of underwater sound generated by rain to determine rainfall rate and type at sea. He received the Prize and gave the Medwin Prize lecture at the spring 2003 ASA meeting in Nashville. The “The sound of Rainfall at Sea.”

 

2002

Dr. Bruce Cornuelle
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego — San Diego, CA

Dr. Cornuelle was selected as the recipient of the 2002 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography from the Acoustical Society of America. He received the Prize and gave the Medwin Prize lecture at the spring 2002 ASA meeting in Pittsburgh. His citation reads: “for the effective use of sound in the discovery and understanding of physical processes in the sea, “

 

2001

Timothy G. Leighton
Institute of sound and Vibration Research, Southampton University — UK

Dr. Leighton received the first Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography at the 2001 meeting held in Ft. Lauderdale. He was awarded the prize “for the effective use of sound in the discovery and understanding of physical processes and parameters in the sea, particularly ocean bubbles.”