Dana R. Yoerger, PhD

Wednesday Plenary, 10:30am

Dr. Dana Yoerger is a Scientist Emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a researcher in robotics and autonomous vehicles.  He supervised the research and academic program of graduate students studying oceanographic engineering through the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in the areas of control, robotics, and design.  Dr. Yoerger has been a key contributor to the remotely-operated vehicle Jason; to the Autonomous Benthic Explorer known as ABE; most recently, to the autonomous underwater vehicle, Sentry; the hybrid remotely operated vehicle, Nereus which reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 2009, and most recently Mesobot, a hybrid robot for midwater exploration.  Dr. Yoerger has gone to sea on over 95 oceanographic expeditions including the Titanic discovery cruise in 1985, many expeditions researching the Mid-Ocean Ridge, mapping underwater seamounts and volcanoes, surveying ancient and modern shipwrecks, and studying the environmental effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Dr. Yoerger has served on several National Academies committees and served as a member of the Research Board of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative for 10 years.  He holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was elected as a Fellow of the IEEE in 2021, and received the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Distinguished Technical Achievement award in 2024.

Exploring the Deep Sea with Autonomous Marine Robots: Past, Present, and Future

Dana Yoerger, PhD
Scientist Emeritus
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Fifty years of innovation has reshaped our ability to observe and understand the deep ocean.  Cooperation and synergism between engineers and scientists has yielded transformational results in fields ranging from geology, geophysics, chemistry, biology, human history, and maritime safety. This talk maps the trajectory of marine robotic systems, highlighting the technological milestones that redefined deepwater research. Looking ahead, we discuss a shift toward intelligent, cooperative systems. Through advances in sensors, novel vehicle designs, advanced manufacturing, and machine learning, the community is poised to reduce operational barriers and accelerate the pace of global ocean discovery.