Terry Sloane

Industry Liaison and Technology 2010-17

My role on the Challenger Council:

Liaison with marine scientific industry to ensure that membership has access to news, research opportunities, commercial opportunities and employment opportunities from within the ocean business community.
Liaison with AMSI (Association of Marine Scientific industries) trade association to provide an independent conduit to and from appropriate government organisations and policy makers from a lobbying, economic and business perspective and with the international oceanographic, hydro graphic and meteorological instrument manufacturers and suppliers.
To strengthen the relationship between the two organisations to provide a coherent business and science contact point to government and the media.
To provide the council and membership with information on developing technologies, “horizon thinking” sponsorship opportunities, and technology search capabilities, and to respond to membership requests for technical information.
To provide industry with an overview of the future requirements of the oceanographic research community and to publicise requirements of membership within the instrument manufacturers community.
To facilitate introductions between membership with respect to joint venture and licensing opportunities.

How I got into science?

From a very young age I wanted to do “underwater stuff” and trained as an electronics engineer in the mid 70’s working for Marconi Space and Defence Systems, Naval Division on under water acoustics and weapon systems and have been working with underwater technology ever since with a brief break into meteorology. Shortly after qualifying I joined NBA Controls, as a designer working on CTD systems, tide gauges, current meters and wave buoys. The application of electronics in the marine environment has always been extremely challenging. We have placed men on the moon, but not on the deepest seabed of our own planet, have explored other worlds in greater detail than our own oceans and we continue to do fantastic science and engineering on what is realistically a shoe string budget.

Who inspires me?

Like most people of my age I was first exposed to the underwater world through the TV and the exploits of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Hans & Lotte Hass and Troy Tempest! Since those formative days I have been fortunate to work alongside some of the best engineers in the business and still do.

Latest News

Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33

12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May

REGISTER HERE

Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)

The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.

The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.

Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.

To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.

The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.

Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy

The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.

The role involves:
-          Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
-          Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
-          Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
-          Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
-          Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
-          Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS

The usual term for Council members is three years.

For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council

For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards

If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk

NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025

The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.

To participate, please complete your registration here.

For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk