Bridge to Ocean Acoustics & Technology

An open education program for ocean acoustics via executable tutorials.

About BOAT

Ever wondered how whales chat across vast ocean basins? Or how we can “see” underwater without light to track fish or map the seafloor?

If you've ever been curious about these questions, the BOAT program is for you!

We aim to provide a hands-on introduction to ocean acoustics—from fundamental concepts to real-world applications—using interactive Jupyter notebooks. No prior background in acoustics needed!

Learn more about the BOAT program and check out the FAQs for the upcoming workhops!

Event Starts In:

Days Hours Minutes Seconds

Who should apply?

✅ Students interested in ocean acoustics, bioacoustics, fisheries, or oceanography

✅ Anyone curious about how sound is used to explore and understand the ocean

✅ Students already working with acoustic data who want to strengthen their skills

💡 Open to students from all disciplines!

What will be covered?

✅ Sound propagation and scattering

✅ Generation, measurement and analysis of sound

✅ Hands-on experience using ocean sonar and hydrophone datasets


Key dates:

Feb. 20, 2025

Seattle application deadline

Mar. 3, 2025

Seattle acceptance notification

Mar. 21, 2025

New Orleans application deadline

Apr. 7, 2025

New Orleans acceptance notification

Tentative Schedule

All times listed below are event local time.

8:00 - 8:30

Breakfast

8:30 - 9:30

Welcome and introduction

Tutorial Lead(s)

9:30 - 10:00

Navigating JupyterHub

Tutorial Lead(s)

10:00 - 10:15

BREAK (group picture)

10:15 - 11:15

Acoustic receivers and signals

Tutorial Lead(s)

11:15 - 11:30

BREAK

11:30 - 12:30

Hands-on: Explore sound recordings

Tutorial Lead(s)

12:30 - 13:30

LUNCH

13:30 - 14:00

Morning recap + Q&A

14:00 - 15:00

Acoustic propagation

Tutorial Lead(s)

15:00 - 15:15

BREAK

15:15 - 16:15

Hands-on: Communicating with an AUV

Tutorial Lead(s)

16:15 - 16:30

BREAK

16:30 - 17:30

Primer: Probability distributions

Tutorial Lead(s)

17:30 - 18:00

Informal social

8:00 - 8:30

Breakfast

8:30 - 9:30

Acoustic sources

Tutorial Lead(s)

9:30 - 9:45

Primer: How to read an instrument spec sheet

Tutorial Lead(s)

9:45 - 10:30

Primer: Statistical estimation

Tutorial Lead(s)

10:30 - 10:45

BREAK

10:45 - 11:30

Primer: Statistical testing

Tutorial Lead(s)

11:30 - 12:30

Hands-on: Fit distributions and test hypotheses

Tutorial Lead(s)

12:30 - 13:30

LUNCH

13:30 - 14:45

Acoustic scattering

14:45 - 15:15

Hands-on: Decipher echograms

Tutorial Lead(s)

15:15 - 15:30

Workshop experience survey

Tutorial Lead(s)
All

15:30 - 15:45

BREAK

15:45 - 16:30

Reproducible research best practices

Tutorial Lead(s)

16:30 - 17:00

Reflections & feedback

Tutorial Lead(s)
All

Meet the team

The people on this page have helped organize this workshop. You'll find a few specializations listed per person if you're wondering who to reach out to during the event!
Aditya Krishna
Graduate Research Assistant
Tutorial Helper badge
Read more →
Caesar Tuguinay
Graduate Research Assistant
Tutorial Helper badge
Read more →
Todd Hefner
Senior Principal Physicist
Event Organizer badge Tutorial Lead badge
Read more →
Valentina Staneva
Senior Research Scientist
Event Organizer badge Tutorial Lead badge
Read more →
Wu-Jung Lee
Principal Oceanographer
Event Organizer badge Tutorial Lead badge BOAT Program Lead badge
Read more →

Our Sponsors

Office of Naval Research (ONR)