Keynote Speaker

Alan Leonardi

Ocean Exploration, Ocean Science, and Ocean Technology: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Dr. Alan Leonardi is the president and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL), which represents the leading ocean science, research, and technology organizations from academia, industry, and the larger nonprofit sector (to include philanthropy, associations, and aquariums) from around the United States. Prior to COL, he spent 18 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), most recently as director of the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). In this role, Dr. Leonardi oversaw and supported expeditionary exploration activities, which combined traditional at-sea exploration and science technologies, emerging advanced technologies such as autonomous maritime systems, and high-speed networks and infrastructure for live communications – including high-definition video of the seafloor – to scientists and other audiences ashore. At NOAA, he also served as acting director and deputy director of the Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation; manager for the Environmental Modeling Program; and deputy director of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Dr. Leonardi has advanced ocean exploration, research, and technology through service on several councils and advisory boards, including as co-chair of the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council and as a member of the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) Advisory Board, A Trans-AtLantic Assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based Spatial management plan for Europe (ATLAS), Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time (iAtlantic), and the Scientific Advisory Board that provided advice and guidance to the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE.

Dr. Leonardi received his master’s and doctorate degrees in physical oceanography from Florida State University and his undergraduate degree in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.c targets.

Speakers

José Cândido Lustosa Bittencourt de Albuquerque

Jose Cândido Lustosa Bittencourt de Albuquerque is Chacellor of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) since 2019 and until 2023. He graduated in Law from UFC; has a Specialization in Civil Procedural Law at UFC, a Master in Constitutional Legal Order, and a PhD in Brazilian Education. He held several University professors’ positions: Associate Professor at the State University of Vale do Acaraú (UVA) (2011); Professor of Criminal Law at the undergraduate and postgraduate level at the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) (1986-1994); Effective Professor at the UFC Law School since 1991 and currently Associate III, teaching the subject of Criminal Law at undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, he held top management positions such as, Head of the Public Law Department of the UFC Law School (1998-2002, 2008-2011); Coordinator of the UFC Legal Practice Center (2010 to 2011); Director of the UFC Law School (2011-2019). He is registered with the Brazilian Bar Association, Ceará Section (OAB/CE) since 1981, was President of the Brazilian Bar Association, Ceará Section, for the 1995/1997 triennium and Federal Counselor of the OAB, elected for the 2013/2015 triennium. He is a founding partner of Cândido Albuquerque Associated Lawyers, based in Fortaleza/CE, since 1981. He is the coordinator of the “Sociedade de Debates/Debate Society” and “Verde Luz Cultura e Arte/Green Light Culture and Arts” extension projects.

Karen Silverwood-Cope

Karen is the General Coordinator of Ocean, Antarctica and Geoscience at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Brazil since 2019. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Brasília and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Development from the London School of Economics. She has experience in Public Policy, acting as Specialist in Public Policy and Government Management at the Ministry of Economy in the Federal Government on issues related to the environment and climate change since 2009. She was Director of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, General Coordinator the National Plan on Climate Change and the National Fund on Climate Change. She is currently the coordinator of the public policy research subnet of Rede Clima /Climate Network, a visiting researcher at IPEA and a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Brasília. She is a member of the Science and Policy Advisory Committee of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research.

CMG Ricardo Barrillo Cruz

Commander of the Ports Captaincy of the State of Ceará, Brazil.

Artur Bruno

Artur is an educator with a 43-year of experience dedicated to training youth. Before taking over the Secretary of the Environment (SEMA) of the State of Ceará, Brazil, in January 2015, Artur held several top public administrative positions such as federal deputy, state deputy and city councilor for Fortaleza. Artur has authored ten books and is a member of the Fortalezense Academy of Letters and an effective member of the Ceará Institute (Historical, Geographical and Anthropological).

Discussants

João Borges de Sousa

Konstantinos Topouzelis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean and he is leading the Marine Remote Sensing Group. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, a Master’s degree in Remote Sensing and a Ph.D. in sea pollution monitoring from space. His main research interest is on the analysis of remote sensing datasets, including satellite and aerial images, for marine and coastal applications. His expertise includes automatic detection of oceanographic phenomena, Object Based Image Analysis, image processing algorithms and coastal mapping. The last years has focus his research on the marine litter detection and runs the Plastic Litter Projects (PLP); an innovative exploratory application of open-access satellite imagery and drone data for the remote detection of artificial floating marine plastic targets.

Meiry Sakamoto

Meiry Sakamoto has a Bs, a MSc and a PhD in Meteorology from the University of São Paulo. Currently Researcher and Head of the Department of Meteorology at Research Institute for Meteorology and Water Resources (FUNCEME). Works in Geosciences, with emphasis on Meteorology, mainly in the Satellite Meteorology and Mesoscale. Has experience in meteorological monitoring and weather and climate forecasting, particularly, on the Brazilian Northeast.

Moderator

Jerry Miller

Jerry Miller is President of Science for Decisions, a consulting practice which he founded in 2013 to ensure that solid science is available to inform decisions that impact people and places around the globe. A senior executive with expertise in natural sciences and policy, Dr. Miller also served from 2015 through early 2017 as Director of the Science and Technology for Sustainability Program at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine where he addressed a wide range of issues spanning the interfaces among economic, environmental, and social sciences. These included energy supply, food security, and urban development for which marine components are of increasing importance. Previously, Dr. Miller held several senior positions, including Assistant Director for Ocean Sciences at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he was instrumental in the creation of the United States’ first National Ocean Policy and the development of its foundational science and technology priorities. Before taking on his role at the White House, Dr. Miller held positions in academia, government, and the non-profit sector. He has published widely in the peer-reviewed literature and made significant contributions to several major federal policy documents. His work has been recognized with awards both in the U.S. and abroad including for development of salinity remote sensing technology. Dr. Miller earned his B.S. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina, his M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, and his Ph.D. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from the University of Miami. He was recently elected to membership in the Cosmos Club, incorporated in Washington, D.C. in 1878 for individuals distinguished in science, literature, the arts, a learned profession or public service, and he has served on the Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations..

If you need any additional information please send an email to Jose Luiz Moutinho.