Research Statement

Underwater acoustics used to be driven by defense purposes, and now acoustic waves are a major means for studying the oceans. As examples, active acoustics allows estimating fish population while marine mammals are studied using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). On the other hand, defense activities still require advanced SONAR processings to, amongst others, localize quieter sources in a noisy environment.

One common factor to all of these applications is the need for robust algorithms, taking into account the fact that the ocean is a complex environment, partially known and variable in time and space. It is thus required to develop signal processing methods based on the underlying physics, and adapted to the end-users needs and requirements. This obviously leads to interdisciplinary research, covering fields such as undersea technology instrumentation, signal processing, acoustics, marine biology, physical oceanography and so on.

My own research is based on a synergy between signal processing and physics. Thanks to this synergy, I develop innovative processing methods adapted to the need of the ocean acoustic community. This subsequently benefits a wide spectrum of applications, from underwater warfare to marine biology.

My activity can be cataloged into two major topics. On the first topic, I develop signal processing methodologies adapted to underwater acoustic propagation, particularly for low frequency sournds (0-500 Hz). My second research interest is focused on Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM). Its main objective is to use state-of-the-art signal processing to answer environmental concerns (such as marine mammal study or oceanography).