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Associate Professor
Dr. Gong is an observational physical oceanographer at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science - William & Mary (VIMS-W&M). He studies dynamical interactions between the coastal and open ocean at mid-latitude and polar regions. Dr. Gong received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 2010 and did his postdoc at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution prior to joining the faculty at VIMS-W&M. Dr. Gong uses autonomous underwater vehicles and aerial drones to study coastal ocean dynamics and climate in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight and the Arctic Ocean. He has sailed into the Northwest Passage and deployed glider in the Beaufort Sea by Mackenzie Canyon. Dr. Gong is currently focused on developing sustainable ocean exploration through the design and application of advanced sailing vessels and advanced autonomous systems.
Collaborator/Visiting Post-Doc; PhD (2021)
For her dissertation, Laur utilized turbulence data from an ocean glider and a ROMS ocean model to study the transfer of energy in the Southern Ocean to smaller scales. Currently she uses gliders, modeling, and math to investigate the physics that influence the ocean's temperature and velocity structure. Laur is also the author of the open source toolbox ocean_data_tools.
Jack Slater
Marine Scientist
Jack graduated with a degree in physics from William & Mary in 2022. He joined the lab in November 2021 and is currently assisting with glider preparation, piloting, and data QA/QC.
Ricardo Bourdon
Master's Bypass Student
Ricardo is a Master’s Bypass student working in the Lab of Ocean Sensing. Currently, he is working as a part of the NORSE project to study the mixing dynamics and processes around the Jan Mayen island in the Nordic Seas. He utilizes autonomous glider data collected during various NORSE deployments and numerical models to better understand the dynamics and processes that take place in these polar seas.
Fiona Gordon
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Fiona is a junior completing her degree in Physics at William & Mary. She is currently assisting with glider operations, preparation, and data processing.
Lab Alumni
Haixing (Daniel) Wang
Ph.D. (Graduated in 2021)
Daniel conducted observational and modeling investigations of the submarine canyons in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight. He combined data from ocean gliders and results from 3-D numerical modeling in his study.
Anthea Empson
Undergraduate Research Assistant (2021-2022)
Anthea graduated with a degree in Physics at William & Mary in 2022. She assisted with glider operations, data processing, and data visualization.
Jeanna Hudson
Lab Operations Manager (2015-2020)
Jeanna received in M.S. degree from VIMS and joined the Laboratory for Ocean Sensing in 2015. Jeanna managed the lab's operational activities and coordinated day to day lab operations. Jeanna helped to deploy glider Sylvia in the Arctic Ocean in 2016 as part of the MARES project and she was instrumental in ensuring the lab's operational capability for many other projects. Jeanna is currently attending the School of Nursing at VCU.
Undergraduate Interns
Kelsey Barber
REU Intern (2020)
Impacts of Wind on Ocean Circulation in the Mackenzie Canyon Region of the Beaufort Sea - an observational study using underwater glider
REU Intern (2018)
Characterizing the transport pathways and the storage of freshwater in the western Arctic Ocean through a HYCOM-based drifter study
Undergraduate Research Assistant (2017-2018)
Investigating Autumn Circulation and Transport in the western Arctic Ocean
Jacob Gunnarson
W&M Undergraduate Intern (2017)
Glider investigation of the eastern Beaufort Sea
Lev Looney
REU Intern (2016)
Dominant Driver of Interannual and Decadal Variability in Salinity of the Mid-Atlantic Bight
James Brown
REU Intern (2015)
Investigating cross-shelf exchange at the Mid-Atlantic Bight
REU Intern (2014)
Interannual and Decadal Variability in Temperature and Salinity in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Georges Bank from 1977 to 2013
W&M Monroe Scholar (2014)
Exploring the exchange flow between the Chesapeake Bay and the continental shelves using the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System
Hunter Winecoff
W&M Undergraduate Intern (2014)
Navigation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using onboard hydrographic sensors and the World Ocean Atlas
Brody Marino
W&M Undergraduate Intern (2014)
Studying the coupling between Sea Surface Temperature and Tropical Storms in the North Atlantic
REU Intern (2013)
Volume Transport and Properties of Pacific Water along the Chukchi-Beaufort Shelfbreak and Through Barrow Canyon
Dylan Drake
W&M Undergraduate Intern (2013)
Navigation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using bathymetry data