Research group

Digital Oceans

Blue digital dots forming a horizontal wave KanawatVector© stock.adobe.com

A collaborative platform for exploring advancements and exchanging expertise in digital technology within the marine and maritime space. We foster innovation and research.

About

Research areas

Marine solutions and economies are expanding along with increasing threats to the marine environment. Harnessing progress in digital oceans is essential for addressing global and local challenges.

Digital Oceans focuses on advances in marine digital technology, in areas such as:

  • artificial intelligence
  • data infrastructure and management
  • ocean mapping
  • simulation
  • visualisation such as digital twins

Digital Oceans is a special interest group that aims to establish a collaborative platform for researchers to engage in marine digital applications and methods. Their interest is in a deeper understating of our oceans and in data-driven insights that can inform sustainable practices. They use digital innovation to address practices and changes affecting our marine environments. 

Digital Oceans facilitates efficiency and accessibility. This is achieved through advances in artificial intelligence that improve data analysis and decision-making processes; the optimisation of data structures and management; and new frontiers in ocean mapping, simulation and visualisations.

Our ambition is to:

  • promote and champion Digital Oceans
  • increase awareness to marine digital technologies 
  • foster collaborations and the exchange of ideas 

The Digital Oceans group strives to bridge the gap between cutting-edge marine digital technologies and social and human sciences. 

Our vision is to promote environmental stewardship and help innovations to impact our oceans and the global community.  

To find out more about the Digital Oceans Special Interest Group and what we do, get in touch with group champions Alexandra Karamitrou, Crystal El Safadi, Philip Leadbitter and Hugo Putuhena.

Join the SMMI Community to sign up to this group and our other special interest groups.

People, projects and publications

People

Dr Simon Boxall

Principal Teaching Fellow
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Professor Simon Cox

Head of Department

Research interests

  • My research focusses on computational tools, technologies and platforms and how they enable interdisciplinary problems to be solved in engineering and science.His team in the Computational Engineering and Design Group is applying and developing high performance and cloud computing in a variety of collaborative interdisciplinary computational science and engineering projects. These include:
  • High Performance and novel Computing SystemsCloud Computing and commercial distributed computing - which led to a spin out companyApplied computational algorithms Computational electromagnetics– which led to the formation of a spin-off company.New algorithms such as meshless methods and fast solvers.Data Management Simon is also Director of the Microsoft Institute for High Performance computing where he demonstrates why, where and how current and future Microsoft tools and technologies can be exploited to enable engineering and scientific research to deliver faster, cheaper and better results.
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Professor Stephanie Jones

Professor of Literature and Law

Research interests

  • Literature and Law
  • Postcolonial and decolonial studies
  • Marine and maritime literatures
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Professor Stephen Boyd BEng, MSc, PhD

Professor

Research interests

  • Maritime Composites
  • Experimental and Numerical mechanics
  • Non-contact full-field techniques for validation of numerical models
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Professor Stephen Roberts

Professor of Geology
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Professor Stephen Turnock

Head of School

Research interests

  • His fluid dynamics expertise lies in the synthesis of analytical, experimental and computational methods for a diverse range of applications. Examples of such work are in the development of a patented integrated tidal energy generator (winner of The Engineers’ Energy Sector Innovation award 2008), supervision of the students who designed Amy Williams’ Gold medal winning bob skeleton sled (winner of The Engineer’s Sport Technology Innovation award in 2010) and with continued support for Gold medal success in 2014 and 2018, academic supervisor for the Delphin Autonomous underwater vehicle (winner of the SAUC-E competition in 2007).
  • He has acted as a consultant to diverse organisations including NOC, Speedo, Shell Shipping, BAEsystems, Rolls Royce, dstl, QinetiQ, and WS Atkins.
  • Expertise: Future Fuels for Shipping; Maritime Robotics and Autonomy; Rudder, hydrofoil, and control surface design; Unsteady race simulation for kayak, rowing and sailing; Hull-propeller-rudder interaction; Ship added resistance and manoeuvring in waves; Underwater noise prediction using CFD; Experimental techniques for use of wave/tow tank testing; Tidal turbines, wave energy and offshore wind turbine design; Wind turbine array power prediction; Hydrogen fuel cells for hybrid ship propulsion; Hydrodynamics of swimming assessment by pool based test techniques and using CFD.

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Steve Darby

Associate Dean Research

Research interests

  • River and coastal flooding - relationships between geomorphology and flooding in rivers and deltas
  • Biogeomorphology - interactions between river processes and life
  • River bank erosion processes

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Mrs Sue Brindle

Institute Coordination Manager
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Professor Sue Colley DipEd MA EdD

Associate Dean International

Research interests

  • Practitioner Research
  • Progressive Pedagogies
  • Leadership

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Suleiman Sharkh BEng, PhD, CEng, MIET

Prof of Electrical Machines and Drives

Research interests

  • Electric Machines
  • Power Electronics
  • Microgrids

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Related research institutes, centres and groups

Related research institutes, centres and groups

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Enquiries

If you're interested in joining us or collaborating, get in touch with the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.