Faculty Office Hour: Whales and Wind Farms

Whales and Wind Farms

Scientists in URI’s ocean engineering program and the Graduate School of Oceanography are monitoring offshore wind developments like the Block Island Wind Farm to determine if they are having any effects on whale and other marine life. We will hear from three scientists in the field.

Cost: Complimentary

Register by: Wednesday, October 9, 2024

About the Faculty Presenters

Christopher D. P. Baxter, Ph.D.
Professor and Graduate Director, Ocean and Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering
Christopher Baxter is a joint professor in the Departments of Ocean and Civil and Environmental Engineering at URI and was chairman of the ocean engineering department from 2011-2017. He has been a member of the URI faculty since 2001 and is a registered professional engineer in Rhode Island. Dr. Baxter’s research expertise is in the areas of marine geotechnics, fundamental soil behavior, and coastal resilience. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and other sources.  He teaches courses to both civil and ocean engineering students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Baxter received his B.S. from Tufts University, M.S. degree from Purdue University, and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, all in civil engineering.

James H. Miller, Ph.D.
Professor, Ocean Engineering
College of Engineering
James H. Miller is a professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering at URI where he has been on the faculty since 1995. He also holds a joint appointment in the URI Graduate School of Oceanography. He was a department head and deputy chief scientist of the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in La Spezia, Italy from 2011-2013. Dr. Miller conducts research in the fields of underwater acoustics, sonar, acoustical oceanography, marine bioacoustics, and, recently, the noise from anthropogenic activities. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and served as ASA’s President in 2013-2014. He is a co-founder and on the Board of Directors of FarSounder, Inc., Warwick, RI. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and Doctor of Science in oceanographic engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Robert D. Kenney, Ph.D.’84
Emeritus Marine Research Scientist
Graduate School of Oceanography
Robert D. Kenney was on the faculty of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography for 35 years, where he participated in two major research projects, both of which were linked to the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium—one of the world’s most successful collaborative long-term studies of an endangered whale species. The Cetacean and Turtle Assessment Program (CETAP) was a landmark, federally funded study to understand the species diversity, distribution, seasonality, and abundance of whale, dolphin, and sea turtle populations off the northeastern United States. It was designed to provide basic environmental assessment information relative to oil drilling on Georges Bank and in the mid-Atlantic. The South Channel Ocean Productivity Experiment (SCOPEX) was a multi-disciplinary study of the marine ecosystem in the Great South Channel, with the objective of understanding what made it an important right whale feeding ground. Dr. Kenney holds a B.S. in natural resources/aquatic science from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in biological oceanography from URI.

URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you need accommodations or have questions about access to the event, please call 401.874.2242 at least five business days in advance. For TTY assistance, please call the R.I. Relay Service at 711.