Demian Bailey is a Principal Investigator and the Project Manager for the Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV) program. He joined the project in 2012 while serving as the Marine Superintendent for Oregon State University. Prior to his work with Oregon State, he served as Chief of Operations for the Pacific Fleet and as the Commanding Officer of the R/V David Star Jordan with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Mr. Bailey has broad experience within marine operations, including working in emergency response with the U.S. Coast Guard at the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and other such incidents.After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, he served as a Meteorology Oceanography Officer in the Navy and as a Mission Manager for the DoD Space Test Program with the U.S. Air Force. He holds a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Washington, a U.S. Coast Guard 1600-ton masters license, and is a certified Project Management Professional.
Clare Reimers is the Project Support Office Scientist and Distinguished Professor of Ocean Ecology and Biogeochemistry at Oregon State University. Professor Reimers is internationally known for her research in seafloor biogeochemistry - an important, poorly understood, and notoriously difficult to measure part of the global carbon cycle. She is equally known for development and application of new technologies that have enabled advances in understanding the transfer of nutrients and carbon across the sediment-water interface.
Deanne Lahaie-Noll is the Senior Contract Manager/Contract Officer for the Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV) program. Prior to joining the project in 2013 she served as a Purchasing Manager at the University of Oregon. With purchasing and contracting experience spanning the entirety of her distinguished career, she is naturally the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Educational Procurement. Deanne maintains credentials as a CPSM (Certified Professional in Supply Management) and a C.P.M. (Certified Purchasing Manager) through the Institute for Supply Management. As a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the National Association of Educational Procurement, she brings a level of knowledge and expertise to the project that is hard to beat. As such, the project is glad to have her. Please contact Deanne if you are a vendor with any questions. 541-737-1150
John Comar is the Shipyard Representative for the Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV) program. Prior to joining the project in 2014 he was the Contract Manager for the NSF funded R/V Sikuliaq construction project run by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has 30+ years of ship design, construction, operations and contract management experience, which began as a member of the United States Coast Guard. With a BS in Marine Engineering, an MS in Mechanical Engineering, and memberships in the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) and American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), he also brings an extensive and unique level of expertise to the project.
Daryl Swensen has been the Transition to Operations Coordinator for the Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV) program since 2013—with a brief break from 2014 through 2017 to sail around the world with his family. Prior to his role as the “TTO Coordinator,” he was the Marine Technician Superintendent for Oregon State University’s Ship Operations. This role came naturally to him, as he had already served in diverse capacities from deck hand to chief scientist throughout the Academic Research Fleet. He has spent nearly his entire career on ships helping facilitate science and is now ensuring that the capabilities of the future RCRVs are as user-friendly and science capable as possible.
Hannah Rivera is the Administrative Manager for the Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV) program.
541-737-5114
Operating Institutions
Oregon State University Ship Operations
Oregon State University Ship Operations currently operates an existing fleet out of their facility next to the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. Their mission is to provide “safe science at sea”. They are a member of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System and the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, which houses the #3 ranked oceanography program in the world and a geology program that has explored the planet for over a century. For more information please see the Ship Operations page.
East Coast Oceanographic Consortium (ECOC)
The East Coast Oceanographic Consortium (ECOC), led by University of Rhode Island’s (URI) Graduate School of Oceanography, was founded in April of 2018 and includes URI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of New Hampshire School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering along with 13 associate members that will collaborate on opportunities to conduct research at sea, education and outreach. The consortium’s key mission objective is to provide access to the sea for scientists and engineers for decades to come. Operating the R/V Narragansett Dawn out of URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus will help them accomplish that mission. For more information please visit East Coast Oceanographic Consortium.
Gulf-Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium (GCOC)
The Gulf-Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium (GCOC), cooperatively led by the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), is based on an existing collaboration between USM and LUMCON that began in 2015 and includes 15 associate members located across the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, southeastern United States and Mexico. Their joint efforts have brought the first new RCRV to the Gulf of Mexico in nearly four decades. The GCOCs main mission is to increase the possibilities of discovery through collaboration. This will include the support of infrastructure, facilities, and expertise required to conduct oceanographic research, education, and outreach across the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean. The operation of the R/V Gilbert R. Mason will allow them to accomplish both their mission and vision. For more on the GCOC please visit Gilbert R. Mason.
Our Oversight
The RCRV Science Oversight Committee (SOC) is currently charged with providing guidance on refinement of the vessel design to ensure the broadest suitability for regional coastal science. They include representatives from each US geographic region (East, West and Gulf Coasts) who are supported by stakeholder federal funding agencies.
- Carin Ashjian - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Jack Barth - Oregon State University
- Lisa Campbell - Texas A&M University
- Maureen Conte - MBL/BIOS
- Kendra Daly - University of South Florida
- William L. Fanning - University of Rhode Island
- Michael Gallagher - NOAA-NMFS, Sand Point
- Steven Hartz - University of Alaska
- Joseph Malbrough, Jr. - LUMCON
- Douglas G. Russell - University of Washington
- Ethan Roth - University of Alaska (FIC)
