Paul Spaur: Environmental Robotics Project Manager and Research Assistant in Ventura, CA

I work under Dr. Sean Anderson in his Pacific Institute for Restoration Ecology laboratory, and have taken part in numerous projects and formed and led of multidisciplinary division of his lab called the Aerial and Aquatic Robot Research (AARR) team. Notable Achievements: - Set up and led AARR team, which included the incorporation of social media, public outreach and use of ROVs as educational tools. The AARR is currently working on the construction of 6 different ROV platforms, and creating modular accessories for various types of research. - Appointed as lead mentor for a collaborative middle and high school education program under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Bay Watershed and Education Training (BWET). This program was held in underserved communities to encourage the children to pursue further education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. A combination of professionals, post graduate faculty, graduate, and undergraduate mentors teach and mentor in the fields of biology, environmental science, ecology and other STEM subjects. In addition, ROVs are co-constructed across the levels of experience to further engage the children, then used to carry out research on student formed hypotheses. -Presented at many conferences such as Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and Council for Ocean Affairs Science and Technology (COAST) board of trustees. - Under an ecological restoration grant, set up and trained others on the use of handheld and long term deployment water quality probes (YSI ProPlus and EXO2 Sonde, along with live internet telemetry) to monitor various watersheds around Ventura County, including the wildfire stricken area of Calleguas Creek, located in Camarillo, CA. - Assisted in the survey of insects along the Calleguas Creek area for use as an indicator of ecosystem health.

In this position I support the Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) department by managing the laboratory and scientific instruments, maintaining and training students on an array of scientific environmental sensors and field equipment, and facilitating laboratory instruction. I also manage the Aerial and Aquatic Robot Research (AARR) team under many faculty. The AARR is a group of approximately 4 advisory faculty and 12 undergraduate students that is responsible for the construction, maintenance, modification, and piloting of observation class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for the purpose of biological and environmental science research. I act as a liaison between governmental and non-governmental agencies for collaborative Remotely Piloted Systems (RPS) projects, and serve as a guest lecturer for Dr. Anderson's course on RPS for environmental science research, along with assisting in grant writing and securing funding for the team.