2024 RVTEC Meeting

The 2024 RVTEC Meeting will take place October 21-25, 2024, at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH – Holloway Commons.

Monday October 21 will be dedicated to Cyberinfrastructure, Cybersecurity, and related Satellite Communications content. 

October 22-24 will consist of morning plenary presentations and updates with afternoon breakouts for dedicated subjects and a tour of the UNH facilities.

Friday October 25 will consist of an optional training day.  Three simultaneous training sessions will be offered this year.

Option 1:  Full Day [8:00am-4:30pm]

MAC Training – Limited to 24 participants

Location: UNH New Castle pier facility, Judd Gregg Marine Research Complex, R/V Gulf Surveyor.

Title: Multibeam Quality Assurance Training on R/V Gulf Surveyor

Presenters: Kevin Jerram and Paul Johnson

Description: The Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC) will run through standard Quality Assurance Testing approaches with a Kongsberg EM2040 multibeam system aboard R/V Gulf Surveyor.  Small groups (5-6 technicians) will complete a “mini MAC visit” in Portsmouth Harbor, including system configuration review, hardware health checks, calibration (“patch test”), RX noise testing, and swath coverage assessment.  This session will use SIS 5 software (same as newer deepwater systems) and the training will highlight any differences from SIS 4 (still in use with older systems).  Data will be processed using QPS Qimera and MAC Assessment Tools.

Note: This training takes place at the UNH Pier Facility in New Castle, NH.  Participants are encouraged to attend the accompanying Kongsberg SIS 5.14 workshop that will also be held at the pier facility.

Title: Kongsberg SIS v5.14 Workshop

Location: UNH New Castle pier facility, Judd Gregg Marine Research Complex, Conference Room.

Presenter: Colleen Peters (Kongsberg Discovery)

The SIS Product Manager (and former Marine Technician) will review the latest features implemented in Seafloor Information System 5.14, which promises exciting new functionalities like automated compression, streamlined Sound Speed Manager integration, enhanced display backgrounds and survey planning capabilities. The session will include a demonstration of SIS 5.14, SIS Remote and opportunities to test drive and ask questions. The SIS Remote demonstration will showcase its configuration and usage, highlighting how it enables remote operation of the EM system from anywhere, requiring only a license and network configuration.

Option 2: Full Day [8:30am-4:30pm]

Fortinet Cyber Security Training

Location: University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH – Holloway Commons Building.

Title: Fast Track Technical Workshop on Fortinet Network Security. [~ 4 hours, 8:30am- 12pm]

Presenter: TBD (Fortinet Representative) 

Description: Fast Track Technical Workshop geared toward FortiGate and FortiAnalyzer. The workshops are designed to promote Fortinet Security by providing hands-on experience with specific Fortinet products and solutions.

Cyber Incident Drills 

Title: Cyber-incident Drill - designing, executing, and maximizing the value of cyber-incident drills on your vessel. [~ 4 hours, 1:00 pm - 4:30pm]

Presenter(s): OmniSOC - VSC Team 

Description: Cyber-incident drills are in some cases required, but in all cases can be a low-cost, high ROI method of improving a vessel’s cybersecurity posture; preparing the crew and ship operator to better respond to cybersecurity incidents; identifying gaps in policies, procedures, and coordination; and improving resiliency. In this 4-hour workshop structured around creating cyber-incident drills, your OmniSOC VCS team will help participants understand the types and benefits of various cyber-incident drills while tailoring them to each operator’s specific needs.

Option 3: Half Day [8:30am-12pm]

OpenRVDAS Training

Location: University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH – Holloway Commons Building.

Title: OpenRVDAS, OpenVDM and Sealog - Introduction and Best Practices for the Ocean Data Tools Suite [4 hours]

Presenters: David Pablo Cohn and Webb Pinner

Description: This session will begin with an introduction to the purpose and design philosophy behind OpenRVDAS, OpenVDM and Sealog, and a walk-through of their installation and day-to-day operation. We will then discuss customization and best practices, as well as most recent developments in the tools and plans for the future.

Lodging:

The official conference hotel is the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, NH. 

You can make reservations using this link: Book your group rate for RVTEC 2024 Meeting. Or you can call the hotel at 603-431-2300 and ask for the RVTEC 2024 Meeting room rate. 

The cutoff date to make reservations is September 20, 2024. 

Meals:

A light continental breakfast and lunch will be provided each day. The only exception is for the people attending Friday's MAC Training. No meals will be provided.  

Dinner will be provided on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. Dinner will not be provided any other day

Transportation:

Buses from Boston Logan International Airport, MA to Portsmouth, NH can be booked HERE. 

A shuttle bus service will be provided to transport the participants from the hotel to the meeting location.

Registration:

In-person registration is $350, virtual-only registration is $50.

If you would like to register for in-person attendance, please use this link to register: RVTEC IN-PERSON REGISTRATION. 

If you would like to register for virtual attendance, please use this link to register: RVTEC VIRTUAL REGISTRATION. 

We are again using the Whova platform for the virtual components of our meeting, which includes forums, photo galleries and our agenda as well as event announcements. Sometime after registration you will receive an invite to log onto the Whova event page.

The Icebreaker Reception, which is included in your registration fee, will take place Tuesday evening at the Sheraton Hotel.

Unlike previous years, this year your registration fee includes attendance to Wednesday evening's Recognition Dinner. This year's Recognition Dinner will take place at The Gallery at Jimmy's.  If you would like to bring a guest, you can purchase additional tickets at the registration link. We will not have drink tickets this year, it will be a cash bar. 

Please don't hesitate to contact Bridget Harrell-Donze (bridget@unols.org) or Tara Clemente (tara@unols.org) if you have any questions.

Watch this space for more information as it becomes available!