Dr. Mehrdad Javaherian serves as Technical Director of environmental remediation services at Endpoint Consulting, headquartered in San Francisco, CA. In addition to holding a PhD in environmental epidemiology and a masters in public health, Dr. Mehrdad Javaherian earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering from California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), which recently published an article on students using robotics to search for sunken ships off the coast of Malta.
For the last three years, Cal Poly faculty and students have worked on an underwater discovery projected in Malta funded by a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant. Led by Zoë Wood, professor of computer science, students have worked alongside Professor Christopher Clark of Harvey Mudd College and Professor Timmy Gambin of the University of Malta.
Malta presents an ideal location for using an automated underwater vehicle (AUV) to discover the seabed, given its 7,000 years of history and the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred in the surrounding waters over the years. So far, the three-year project has led to the discovery of the Fairey Swordfish, one of the Royal Navy’s biplane torpedo bombers from World War II. Students found the plane by conducting surveys of the seabed with a UAV, which scanned the seabed and took images for 3-D modeling and data logging.
This project may lead to application in a number of tasks in various industries, such as oil pipeline inspection, oceanographic study, and even homeland security. In addition to the potential for broader application, this research has given students invaluable field experience engaging in problem-solving and cutting-edge research.
For the last three years, Cal Poly faculty and students have worked on an underwater discovery projected in Malta funded by a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant. Led by Zoë Wood, professor of computer science, students have worked alongside Professor Christopher Clark of Harvey Mudd College and Professor Timmy Gambin of the University of Malta.
Malta presents an ideal location for using an automated underwater vehicle (AUV) to discover the seabed, given its 7,000 years of history and the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred in the surrounding waters over the years. So far, the three-year project has led to the discovery of the Fairey Swordfish, one of the Royal Navy’s biplane torpedo bombers from World War II. Students found the plane by conducting surveys of the seabed with a UAV, which scanned the seabed and took images for 3-D modeling and data logging.
This project may lead to application in a number of tasks in various industries, such as oil pipeline inspection, oceanographic study, and even homeland security. In addition to the potential for broader application, this research has given students invaluable field experience engaging in problem-solving and cutting-edge research.