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By Bill Grafton In 1986, Dr. David Aubrey founded an environmental, scientific, and engineering firm as a commercial spin-off from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. Since its inception, the Woods Hole Group has quietly earned the respect and recognition of the global marine environmental community as a high- end scientific and engineering firm. Its staff has experi- ence with some of the earliest oceanographic monitoring programs in the Gulf of Mexico, assisted with the testing and deployment of the core technology for real-time mon- itoring systems in ports and harbors, paved the way for development of environmental protection policy in the Caspian, Yellow, and Black seas, provided large-scale beach nourishment solutions for some of the most notable shorelines in America, and provided scientific rational for industrial discharge permits for a number of reverse osmo- sis and electric generating facilities including a nuclear powered facility. These and a stream of new projects tap into the Woods Hole Group's core scientific and engineering capabilities and challenge the firm to progressively expand its staff to support its analyses with accurate and defensible field measurements. The solution: field-ready teams of scien- tists and engineers- the same people with the break- through thinking who roll up their sleeves, work with equipment, and take measurements to support the analy- ses. Dr. Aubrey, founder and CEO, said: "This trend toward committing more resources in the area of field measure- ments is in line with our long-term goal of applying sci- ence to real-world problems. Success means having con- fidence in the quality of your data and knowing that your analysis is properly supported." Dr. Aubrey himself sets the standard as he has climbed the Altai Mountains in central Asia, scoured the deserts of the Middle East, trekked through the mangroves forests of Africa, traversed the wide, suction-like mudflats of Jiangsu Province in China, and logged more than 2,000 dives in coastal waters, all in support of applied science and engineering design. The perception of the firm has always revolved around its scientific analysis capabilities and innovative respon- siveness to its clients, but below the surface is the Woods Hole Group's team of measurement and field deployment experts that have the experience and stamina to imple- ment what they design. These field teams are as much at the heart and soul of the firm today as its more highly touted scientific foundation. Bob Hamilton, Vice President of Business Development and a Coastal Engineer said: "We are still changing the perception of us as the button-down scientists from up-North." Drawing from some of the highest level of scientific knowledge, personnel, and experience, the field staff works with the scientists to solve challenging problems in demanding environments, and they are not reluctant to spend long, taxing days on an offshore facility, or in the desert. For example, as NOAA's sole commercial Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor at sever- al of NOAA's Physical Oceanographic Real Time Systems (PORTS) programs, Woods Hole Group continually sends engineers and technicians into the field, boarding vessels, climbing buoys, installing and replacing parts, testing equipment, taking measurements, and reporting the results — winter, spring, summer and fall. Dr. Bruce Magnell, Oceanographer and Systems Engineer said, "We've expanded our capabilities to pro- vide services to our traditional customers, including those in the government and the oil and gas markets. There has been an increasing demand for real-time environmental monitoring systems both onshore and offshore, to improve safety, guide operations, satisfy government regu- lations, and most importantly to save our customers time and money. It is satisfying because there are expanded Woods Hole Group Button Down Scientists Roll Up Their Sleeves profile 42 MTR January 2006 MTR#1 (33-48).qxd 1/9/2006 3:35 PM Page 42
