Next generation Unmanned Systems Science

NEXUSS

A NERC and EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in the UK on the use of Smart and Autonomous Observing systems to tackle major challenges in environmental sciences.

Alberto is the director of the NEXUSS Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT). This is a 5-year programme for training cohorts of PhD students bridging the gap between technology and science. The NEXUSS CDT is a partnership between 6 leading universities and research organisations (University of Southampton, Heriot-Watt University, University of East Anglia, British Antarctic Survey, National Oceanography Centre, and Scottish Association for Marine Science).

The first cohort of PhD students in the NEXUSS programme started in autumn 2016 and span disciplines ranging from under-ice navigation for autonomous underwater vehicles to new propulsion methods. Each year, the entering cohort of students will work together in a “Grand Challenge” event, where the first challenge kicks off in Oban, Scotland, and the teams will use an array of numerical simulations, autonomous underwater vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles to identify and map the source of an underwater simulated ‘oil leak’.

See also NEXUSS webpage (external link)