Biographies

Dr. Howe leads the Joint Task Force (JTF) SMART Cable initiative, (Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications) to incorporate sensors into the global submarine telecommunication cable system for climate, ocean circulation and sea level monitoring and tsunami and earthquake warning.

Dr. Howe develops ocean observing infrastructure, including cable systems. Projects have included basin-scale acoustic thermometry and planning, development, and operation of dedicated science cabled observatories. He sees subsea cable systems as critical infrastructure mutually beneficial to both telecom and ocean observing, providing power and communications essential services to the ocean internet of things. This will build on “keep it simple” SMART systems with global ubiquity, evolving in the long-term to multi-purpose systems for ocean observing including basin scale acoustic navigation, communications, timing, and tomography.

After obtaining engineering and oceanography degrees at Stanford University and the University of California at San Diego, Dr. Howe worked at the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington 1987-2008, and is now Research Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi, Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering.