The USF Center for Maritime and Port Studies

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Personnel

Mark E. Luther, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Center for Maritime and Port Studies, USF College of Marine Science
Office phone: (727) 553-1528
Fax: (727) 553-1189
Cell: (727) 410-2838
Email: mluther@usf.edu
CV: View PDF

Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Mathematics and Physics A.B. 1976
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Physical Oceanograpy M.S. 1980
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Physical Oceanograpy M.S. 1982

Bio: Dr. Mark E. Luther is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Maritime and Port Studies in the University of South Florida College of Marine Science and is the founder and president of Marine Science Associates, Inc. He has worked with the NOAA National Ocean Service and others in real-time ocean observing systems since 1991 and has served as Director of Operations for the NOAA Tampa Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System since 1995. He presently serves on the Tampa Bay Harbor Safety and Security Committee Vessel Movement Committee, the DHS/US Coast Guard Area Maritime Security Committee for West Florida, and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Agency on Bay Management. He works closely with the Tampa Port Authority, the Tampa Bay Pilots, US Coast Guard, and other maritime interests on environmental issues affecting and affected by maritime transportation operations and infrastructure. He was a member of the committee that selected and oversaw implementation of the first automated vessel tracking system – a precursor to AIS - for Tampa Bay vessel traffic in 1998. Dr. Luther is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and chairs the Science Advisory Council for the International Seakeepers Society, a non-profit organization that promotes oceanographic research, conservation, and education through direct involvement with the yachting community. He is President and is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Marine Minerals Society and hosts their headquarters at USF. He is Chairman and CEO of The Pier Aquarium, Inc., a non-profit entity promoting community marine education. Dr. Luther is an avid boater with both power and sail boats and holds a US Coast Guard Captain’s License. He has been sailing the waters of Tampa Bay and west Florida since 1983

Steven Meyers, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Center for Maritime and Port Studies, USF College of Marine Science
Office phone: (727) 553-1188
Fax: (727) 553-1189
Cell: (941) 720-4204
Email: smeyers@usf.edu
CV: View PDF

Education: ONR Educator Postdoctoral Fellow, 1991-1993. Florida State University.
Faculty Advisor: James J. O’Brien
Ph.D. Physics, 1990. University of Texas at Austin.
Faculty Advisor: Harry L. Swinney
B.S. Physics and B.A. Mathematics, 1984. University of Rochester.

Bio: Dr. Meyers is the Chief Scientist at the Ocean Center for Maritime and Port Studies at the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science. He has over two decades of experience working with estuarine circulation models and observational data. His work includes studies of ocean wind, waves, tides, currents, fresh water influences, natural and anthropogenic climate variability, and large-scale human construction. His current work includes big data problems to enhance maritime domain awareness through the use of operational oceanographic data, and the interaction between maritime operations and the environment.

Laura Azevedo
Ph.D. student
Cell (727) 631-9579
Email: laurac8@usf.edu

Bio: My research is focused on the integration of AIS maritime data with meteorological and oceanographic / weather data. I work with Dr. Mark Luther and Dr. Steven Myers trying to improve maritime transportation, make it more efficient, safer and more profitable with the right monitoring and forecasting information. Our studies include analysis of vessels behaviors in relation to specific weather occurrences; how ship wake and overall disturbance affects the local metocean data and forecast. We are responsible for maintaining most of Tampa Bay ports metocean monitoring stations and we work closely with NOAA and the Ports Authority to make sure that the metocean information received is accurate and the equipment is working well. Our goal is to improve maritime routing, maneuvering and berthing, to make maritime voyages safer and more efficient. At the same time, we help ports by providing the latest technology on weather and ocean monitoring and forecast.

Sean Beckwith
Ph.D. student
Cell (727) 744-2176
Email: stbeckwith@usf.edu
CV: View CV

Bio: After focusing on ocean chemistry during my Master’s degree at the USF College of Marine Science, I have shifted interests to the technology behind the measurements, such as sensors that capture the temperature, salinity, oxygen content, light availability and nutrient levels in the coastal waters around Florida. Working closely with the CMS Ocean Technology Group, I analyze the data from sensors carried aboard our fleet of semi-autonomous underwater gliders. I am looking for ways to utilize machine learning practices to elucidate trends in the large amount of data collected by the gliders. Part of my dissertation will explore the use of glider flight data to derive course bathymetric maps. I intend to use machine learning algorithms and other statistical methods to improve those maps, which can inform high-resolution bathymetric mapping efforts.

Rebecca Riccardi
Master's student
Cell (845) 608-9774
Email: Rebecca Riccardi
CV: View CV

Bio: My research is focused on deep-sea circulation dynamics in relation to deep-sea mineral extraction. With the current global transition to sustainable energy and technology, there is increased demand for rare earth minerals and increased pressure on mining operations. Current terrestrial mining methods are both unsafe and unreliable because of dangerous working conditions, habitat destruction, health hazards, and rising political tension. My research seeks to support an alternative to the many negative effects of terrestrial extraction, by ensuring safe deep-sea extraction operations that will be conducted to prevent significant ecological disruption in the benthic environment. The goal of my project is to determine the velocity profile and turbulence characteristics in the benthic boundary layer. These results will be used to more accurately model sediment transport from extraction operations and predict the impact of these plumes on the benthic environment.

Bella Iannotta
M.S. student (Center for Port & Maritime Studies)
Co-advised by Dr. Luther & Dr. Schwing (Eckerd College)
Marine Science Advisory Committee President
Cell: 305.304.1966
Email: iannotta@usf.edu

Bio: I am pursuing my master's degree in marine science and researching how sedimentary organics such as phytopigmnts, total organic carbon and nitrogen, as well as stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes are affected by deep-sea mining activity. I am establishing baseline values in the eastern Clarion Clipperton Zone in the central Pacific while examining the sediment after a mining test in the area. I am also interested in understanding the role organic matter plays in flocculation of particles suspended in the water column as a result of the sediment plume generated by the mining vehicle. As deep-sea mining emerges as a potential industry, my research contributes to a wider effort to understand potential impacts.

Alumni

Thomas Wahl, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scientist
Currently Professor at the University of Central Florida

Education: 03/2008 – 06/2012 PhD, Civil Engineering, University of Siegen, Germany

Monica Wilson, Ph.D.

Gulf Oil Spill Research Extension Specialist
Florida Sea Grant College Program UF/IFAS Extension

USF College of Marine Science – KRC 3115
Office Phone: (727) 553-3516
Email: MonicaWilson447@ufl.edu
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Education: Ph.D., Marine Science, University of South Florida
M.S., Marine Science, University of South Florida
B.S., Marine Science and Computer Science, Eckerd College