by Dan Novy
February 16-21, 2020. Katy Croff Bell and Dan Novy co-chaired two sessions at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 in San Diego, CA—Imagining Ocean Science: Education and Outreach Using Visualization, Storytelling, and the Arts and Advancing Technologies for the Future of Deep-Ocean Exploration. Open Ocean also facilitated a Town Hall which reported the results of All Hands on Deck: The 2018 National Ocean Exploration Forum, which took place at the Media Lab in November of 2018.
Monday, February 17, at a bright and early 8am, Dan Novy, assisted by his co-chairs, opened and hosted Imagining Ocean Science: Education and Outreach Using Visualization, Storytelling, and the Arts, from the stage of the eLightining Theater at the San Diego Convention Center. The session brought together the pre-eminent artists and data visualization scientists working in the field of ocean art, communication, and outreach today. Split between three sessions spanning the day, in the theater space and poster hall, the most exciting technologies and examples of ocean storytelling was shared by their inventors to a crowd remarkable for 8am and which continued to draw audience members as the day proceeded. Open Ocean's Océane Boulais presented her work on synthetic lifeform generation using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) entitled "Meet the Ganimals."
On Tuesday, February 18, Katy presented the report from All Hands on Deck: Results of the 2018 National Ocean Exploration Forum, along with David McKinnie and Adrienne Copeland from the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, and Carlie Wiener of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Keep on the lookout for the final report, a beautifully printed booklet of all that transpired; speakers, workshops, and special guests. Coming soon!