IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society
Student Marine Autonomous Systems Workshop

Gabriele Ferri received the the Laurea degree (M.S.) in Computer Engineering (with Honors) from the University of Pisa, Italy, in 2003. and a Ph.D. degree in Biorobotics from Scuola Superiore S. Anna, Pisa, in 2008. Since 2013, he has been a research scientist at the NATO STO-Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE). His research activities involve mainly robot cooperative autonomy and AI strategies for complex hybrid marine robotic networks in communication limited environment and related fields, such as underwater navigation and communication. His research activity on robotics is witnessed by over 80 publications in refereed conferences and journals. 

Emma holds a BSc in Marine Biology and an MSc in Marine and Aquatic Biology from the University of Portsmouth. She began her career at Chelsea Technologies Ltd, a leading marine sensor manufacturer, before joining SMI in September 2020 as Director of the Marine Science & Technology Group (MSTG) and the Maritime Autonomous Systems Group (MASG). In her role, Emma is dedicated to ensuring that members across both groups are effectively represented to government, industry stakeholders, and the wider maritime community. In 2022, she launched the SMIFutures initiative to support and develop the next generation of leaders in the maritime sector, and she leads the Marine Autonomy Challenge (MAChallenge), a national university competition connecting students with industry to accelerate skills, innovation, and collaboration in autonomous maritime systems. 

Dr. Asiya Khan is Associate Professor of Multimedia Communication and Intelligent Control at the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Plymouth, where she also serves as Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience. Her research spans artificial intelligence, intelligent control systems, computer vision and autonomous systems, with a particular focus on applied machine learning and intelligent sensing for real-world engineering challenges, including autonomous and marine systems.

Alongside her academic leadership role, she has extensive experience in engineering education, equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and interdisciplinary research collaboration. She has led and contributed to multiple research projects in areas such as inclusive engineering education and systems intelligence, and has supervised postgraduate researchers working across autonomous systems, cyber-physical systems and data-driven engineering applications.

Julia Bonat is a member of the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) group at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), where she works as part of a multidisciplinary team developing and deploying robotic technologies for ocean exploration and monitoring. Her work supports the advancement of marine autonomous systems, contributing to research and operational capability in underwater robotics and ocean observation.

She is involved in engineering and scientific activities across NOC’s autonomous systems programmes, helping to design, test and operate technologies used in challenging marine environments. Through this work, she contributes to improving the reliability and performance of robotic platforms used for deep-sea research and environmental data collection.

Dr. Ahmet Cinar is a Senior Computer Vision Engineer at Frontier Robotics, where he develops advanced perception and AI technologies for autonomous underwater inspection systems. His work focuses on computer vision, robotics and intelligent sensing for challenging subsea environments, supporting the deployment of autonomous systems for offshore infrastructure inspection and monitoring.

He holds a PhD in Image-based Fracture Mechanics and has nearly a decade of experience in innovation, robotics and AI research and development across the nuclear and energy sectors. At Frontier Robotics, Dr. Cinar contributes to the development of next-generation underwater autonomy and visual sensing technologies designed to improve the safety, efficiency and scalability of marine operations.

Luis Toral is an AI Solutions Specialist at HPR ROV, where he applies artificial intelligence to support efficiency, scalability, and strategic transformation across the company’s marine robotics and offshore technology activities. Based in Aberdeen, Luis works closely with engineering and operations teams to develop and implement AI-driven solutions for complex subsea and offshore challenges, with a strong emphasis on practical business value, operational reliability, and measurable impact. His approach to AI focuses on structured and context-specific solutions that are scalable, robust, and aligned with real-world industry needs rather than experimental concepts alone. Luis also contributes to digital strategy and technology assessment, helping ensure that technical developments are secure, executable, and positioned for long-term growth within the evolving marine and offshore robotics sector.

Seamus McGinley is a member of the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) group at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), where he works within the engineering team supporting the development, operation and deployment of underwater robotic platforms for ocean science. His work contributes to the delivery of autonomous marine systems used for environmental monitoring, deep-sea exploration and sustained ocean observation.

He is part of NOC’s wider marine technology capability, helping to maintain and operate a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles, gliders and remotely operated systems that enable scientific research in some of the most challenging marine environments. Through this role, he supports both national and international research programmes focused on advancing ocean observation and marine robotics.

Nils Coe is an Applications Engineer at Nortek, specialising in Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) and integrated navigation systems for subsea vehicles. Based in Nortek’s UK office, he works closely with customers across scientific, commercial and defence sectors to support the integration and optimisation of underwater navigation technologies in GPS-denied environments.

His work focuses on the practical application of acoustic sensing and inertial navigation for autonomous underwater systems, helping advance reliable positioning and navigation capabilities for AUVs and ROVs. Nils regularly presents on subsea navigation, DVL performance optimisation and marine autonomy at industry and research events across the UK.

Mustafa Suphi Erden is a Professor of robotics with the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK. He received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, in 1999, 2001, and 2006. Between 1999 and 2006, he was a Research Assistant in the same department. From 2007 to 2012 he was a postdoctoral researcher, successively in Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands; in Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées-ParisTech, France; in Univ. Pierre & Marie Curie – Paris 6, France. In 2012 he received the European Union Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship with his project “Skill Assistance with Robot for Manual Welding” – SkillAssist. Between 2012 and 2014, he was with Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, with this fellowship. His research interests include industrial robotics, medical robotics, physical human-robot interaction, assistive robotics, skill assistance, mechatronics design, machine learning, and underwater robotics. He has been the recipient of research funding of around £2.4 M by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK, €870K by European Commission (EC), and £200K by railway industry, as the PI and Co-I of the research projects.

Dr. Nils Morosz is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Safe Autonomy, University of York, where he works on underwater communication, sensing and networking technologies for autonomous marine systems. His research focuses on developing and evaluating communication protocols and data transmission methods for underwater acoustic networks, with applications in environmental monitoring, subsea sensing and marine robotics. 

He holds a PhD in Electronic Engineering from the University of York and has previously worked on wireless and mobile communication systems in both academic and industrial settings, including at BT. Alongside his research, he has contributed to multiple industry and research projects involving underwater acoustic sensor networks, including hardware prototyping and sea trials in operational marine environments.