ERIC TERRILL, PH.D.

Director, Coastal Observing Research and Development Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego

Dr. Terrill is an oceanographer with 25 years of experience leading basic and applied research programs around the globe. In 2003, he established a R&D Center within the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps to rapidly field new technologies and conduct exploratory and expeditionary research. Scripps Marine Physical Laboratory is one of the four original Navy-University Applied Research Laboratories established in World War II. Staffed by engineers, data analysts, and ocean scientists, Dr. Terrill’s Center serves as an interface between the research enterprise; technology development; and operational applications of science and technology. In addition, Dr. Terrill has extensive experience working with industry to develop, improve, and evaluate new ocean technologies and unmanned platforms. Dr. Terrill has a B.S. (magna cum laude) degree in Applied Mechanics and Engineering sciences from the University of California, San Diego and a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography-Applied Ocean Sciences from Scripps Institution of Oceanography funded by DOD fellowships. Early in his career he was selected to receive a 3 year ONR Young Investigator Fellowship to recognize his naval-relevant research. In addition, Dr. Terrill has served on transition and government review teams for the Navy, Federal Advisory committees for NOAA; and, has twice provided congressional testimony on matters associated with emerging ocean technologies for maritime domain awareness. He is co-founder of Project Recover , a private-public collaborative which conducts global searches using unmanned underwater vehicles and premission historical analysis to locate WWII-era aircraft crash sites for reporting to the Defense POW/ MIA Accounting Agency. He is an avid diver with 32 years of diving experience.