DRDC Atlantic Defence Scientist Wins Discovery Award

• Nicole Collison Wins Emerging Professional Award
• Dave Chapman Nominated for Science Champion Award

Nicole Collison Wins Emerging Professional Award

Congratulations to Nicole Collison!

DRDC Atlantic defence scientist Nicole Collison has won the 2003 Discovery Awards Emerging Professional Award. This award goes to the science student/professional who demonstrates ingenious and innovative thinking in the development of unique ideas, theories and processes in their field while also maintaining diverse interests outside of science.

Nicole Collison has been with DRDC Atlantic since 1999 where she is part of the Sonar Signal Processing group. Her work includes the use of sonar to detect everything from submarines in coastal waters to Right Whales in the Bay of Fundy. In her short time at DRDC, she has become the leading authority on array element localization.

With the excellent background in underwater ocean acoustics obtained during her MSc program at the University of Victoria and subsequent scientific work at DRDC Atlantic, Nicole Collison has gained expertise in underwater acoustic inversion and modelling, physical oceanography, underwater acoustic experimentation, and the optimization of large-dimensional problems.

In recognition of her innovative scientific investigations, she received the 1999 CAA Fessenden Student Prize in underwater acoustics and the 2001 CAA Director’s Graduate Student Author Award. In addition, in May 2003, the Acoustical Society of America awarded her the Technical Committee on Signal Processing Award for Outstanding Paper by a Young Presenter. She has also been invited to review papers for Canadian Acoustics and to work internationally with NATO groups and with the Technical Cooperation Program, which includes Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

In both her professional and personal life, Nicole Collison is committed to helping the environment. She is a member of several community groups including The Clean Nova Scotia Foundation, Climb Nova Scotia and the North End Community Gardening Association. She assists these organizations in educating the public on a variety of community issues including waste reduction and sustainable living.

Dave Chapman Nominated for Science Champion Award

Congratulations to Dave Chapman!

DRDC Atlantic defence scientist, Dave Chapman, was a finalist for the 2003 Discovery Awards Science Champion Award. He was among three finalists singled out this year for their contributions to the Nova Scotia scien2009-02-25ogy professional or science educator in Nova Scotia who displays excellence in promoting science and technology to the public.

Dave Chapman has been a defence scientist at DRDC Atlantic since 1977. His work includes underwater acoustics as applied to submarine detection and underwater seismo-acoustic research at very low frequencies. He has published articles in many scientific journals and conference proceedings.

Professional distinctions include becoming an elected fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics (UK). In 2002 he was recognized by the Australian Acoustical Society and addressed their annual meeting. That same year he was honoured with the 25-year Service Award with the Government of Canada.

Along with the numerous accolades in his professional career, Dave Chapman has earned tremendous respect for his work as an amateur astronomer. This work has been used to enhance public interest and knowledge in the field of astronomy. Dave has contributed to newsp2009-02-25 Chronicle Herald and has been editor and contributor to the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

For many years Dave has devoted his extensive energy and considerable knowledge towards enhancing public understanding of acoustics. Several of his ScienceQuest columns and the development of “Notes on Musical Acoustics” for the Science Teachers of Nova Scotia demonstrate his significant contributions and commitment to sharing his expertise in the field of acoustics. In addition to this, he has contributed to the Canadian Astronomy magazine Skynews, and has written items for the US National Public Radio program, Stardate.