Supported by the Julia R. Brown Education and Research Fund, Mechanical Engineering (Applied Ocean Science) PhD student Hannah Walker traveled to Glasgow to attend the MPOWIR Summit and the Ocean Sciences Meeting, where she presented a novel, affordable video sensor for characterizing particle size and distribution—key parameters for ocean carbon‑sequestration studies. The trip also offered leadership training, networking with early‑career and senior oceanographers, and inspiration from renewable energy sessions that will shape her future work. This experience highlighted the value of low‑cost ocean technology and deepened her connections within the marine science community.
I was able to attend and present at the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) in Glasgow using the funding from the Julia R. Brown fund. I was in Glasgow from February 18th to the 28th and first attended a Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention (MPOWIR) Summit for the first three days prior to the conference. In this summit I learned about leadership in academia and networked with about 15 other early career researchers and 8 senior scientists. I then attended OSM between the 22nd and 27th where I enjoyed my time attending talks, posters and networking with new and old colleagues from other institutions.
Here, I was able to present my work on Wednesday, February 25th in an 8-minute talk titled “Characterizing particle distribution and size fluctuations with novel, affordable video sensor” (Fig. 1). Although my talk was in the Low-Cost and Scalable, Accessible Ocean Technology Enabling New Ocean Insights II Oral session, the work is relevant to carbon sequestration research. A large amount of carbon in the ocean is sequestered via sinking particles and the efficiency of this export process is dependent on information such as particle size, shape and density. The sensor I presented in my talk is a low-cost, stereo view single camera device that can give direct measurements of 3D particle concentration and size information in situ and therefore can contribute to carbon sequestration research.
While at Ocean Sciences I was also able to attend multiple sessions where I learned more about marine carbon sequestration and sediment transport to expand my own understanding of research relevant to this work. My other research that I did not present at OSM is focused on wave energy conversion so I was interested in attending renewable energy talks as well. My favorite and the most memorable talk for me was about a float developed by Seatrec powered using temperature gradients allowing for long deployments. This talk inspired me to continue my work in renewable energy and to think of other alternative ways we can power oceangoing vehicles.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Glasgow and could not have done it without the funding from Julia R. Brown. In fact, my close friend Andrea was also funded by Julia R. Brown and we both had a rewarding experience (Fig. 2). I was able to attend her poster at OSM and hear about her research as well.
Thank you so much for funding this experience for me; it was educational, inspiring and fun and had a positive impact on my career.
Blog content and images provided by Hannah Walker – thank you!
Andrea Rodriguez-Marin Freudmann also presented her research at the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow. Read about Andrea’s experience here.