Submission Tracks

OCEANS 2026 Monterey includes three contribution types: Regular Paper contributions, the General Poster Track and the Student Poster Competition. Each track has different requirements for papers, presentations and publication eligibility.

Regular Paper Contributions

Requirements

• Accepted abstracts require a full conference paper.
• The Technical Committee selects the final presentation format as oral or poster.
• At least one author must register and present at the conference.
• Each accepted paper requires a full conference registration.

Publication

• Presented papers may be published in IEEE Xplore®, subject to IEEE requirements.
• Papers must comply with IEEE formatting and copyright policies.
• Papers not presented will not be submitted to IEEE Xplore®.

Best Suited For

• Original research with validated results
• Fully developed systems or technologies
• Rigorous experimental or field studies
• Novel methods with demonstrated performance
• Interdisciplinary work advancing ocean engineering practice

General Poster Track

Requirements

• No full conference paper is required.
• Accepted authors present during designated poster sessions.
• Posters are displayed for one day with assigned presentation windows.

Publication

• General Poster Track submissions are not eligible for publication in IEEE Xplore®.

Best Suited For

• Early-stage research
• Industry case studies
• Technology demonstrations
• Field campaign results
• Student projects not entering the Student Poster Competition

Student Poster Competition

Eligibility

• Open to undergraduate and graduate students.
• The student must be the lead author and presenter.
• Work must be original.

Requirements

• Students must indicate student status during submission.
• Accepted students present during the conference.
• Students are judged on technical merit, originality, clarity and impact.
• Awards are presented during the conference.

Publication

• Student Poster Competition papers are eligible for IEEE Xplore® publication, subject to IEEE requirements.
• Authors of accepted Student Poster Competition papers are expected to prepare and submit a full conference paper.

Student Support

• Financial support is available for presenting students.

Full Paper Requirements

Authors of accepted Regular Paper contributions and Student Poster Competition submissions are expected to prepare and submit a conference paper for the conference proceedings.

• Conference papers should be 4 to 6 pages plus references.
• Papers must follow IEEE formatting and copyright requirements.
• Additional instructions will be provided to accepted authors.
• Accepted papers may be published in IEEE Xplore®, subject to IEEE requirements.

Abstract Guidelines

Abstracts should summarize the problem statement, approach and methodology, key results when available and relevance to the OCEANS community.

• PDF format
• US Letter format
• English language
• 500-word minimum; 1,000-word maximum
• Two-page maximum, inclusive of text, graphics and references
• Include the principal author’s name, institution or affiliation and paper title at the top of the abstract

Technical Scope

OCEANS 2026 Monterey welcomes original contributions across the full spectrum of ocean engineering and marine technology. The conference reserves the right to modify session formats, merge sessions or adjust presentation types based on submission volume and program balance.