Faculty

Prof. John R. Buck is a Chancellor Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.  His research interests include array signal processing, underwater acoustics, marine mammal bioacoustics, and engineering pedagogy.  Prof. Buck joined UMass Dartmouth in 1996 after receiving his Ph.D. from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Electrical and Oceanographic Engineering.  Dr. Buck is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a Senior Member of the IEEE.  He is a past recipient of the ONR Young Investigator award and the NSF CAREER award, as well as a former Fulbright Senior Fellow to Australia.  His teaching awards include the Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office, the Mac Van Valkenburg Early Career Teaching Award from the IEEE Education Society, the Leo M. Sullivan Teacher of the Year award from the UMass Dartmouth Faculty Federation, and The Goodwin Medal from MIT.  He is the co-author of the Signals and Systems Concept Inventory, and two signal processing textbooks.   Dr. Buck has held visiting appointments at the University of Saint Andrews, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, George Mason University, the University of New South Wales, Brown University, the University of Sydney, the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.  His hobbies include cycling, ice hockey, hiking, and most recently, learning to play ukulele.

Boringly exhaustive full CV

Obligatory Google Scholar Link

Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry: “He was always boasting of his ancestors, as stupid people do who are aware that they have done nothing themselves to boast about.” -Robert Graves

Graduate Students

Savas Erdim is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He received an M.S. degree in Underwater Acoustics from Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California in 2015 and an MS Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2022. His research in passive sonar focuses on the suppression of moving interferers with universal adaptive beamforming. He won the second place award in the signal processing student presentation competition at the Fall 2021 Acoustical Society of America meeting in Seattle, WA.

Chris Gravelle is an M.S. student in electrical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Chris received a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Spring 2022. His research focuses on bio-inspired active sonar target localization strategies and how to imitate them in man-made systems. Chris’s hobbies include rock climbing and petting his cat, Stormy.

Brandon Keefe is an M.S. student in Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Brandon also received his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.  His research focuses on the detection and estimation of rainfall at sea using underwater acoustics.  Brandon Keefe won outstanding academic excellence in both electrical and computer engineering and after graduation he plans to work at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI.  Outside of research, Brandon loves playing all kinds of sports especially football, basketball, and soccer as well as fixing his own project cars in his free time.

Marvin Mboya is a Masters Student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Marvin received B.S. in Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering from the Multimedia University of Kenya in 2021. His research focuses on infotaxis in marine acoustics hence gearing to achieve an optimal search strategy in the macroscopic environment. Marvin’s hobbies include art, developing creative web projects and listening to music.

Muhammad Mudassir Jawaid is a doctorate student in ECE department at the Umass Dartmouth. He got his Bachelors in Electronics Engineering in the year 2017 from Hamdard University with two Gold Medals. Later, he completed his MS in Electrical (Control) by Research in Autonomous Underwater Vehicles from the National University of Sciences and Technology in 2021 with the President Gold Medal. He has four years of work experience as a Research Officer at the Robotics and Dynamic Systems Research Laboratory (NUST-PNEC) where he worked on small-scale Unmanned Underwater Vehicles and various robotics platform. His research in autonomous vehicles focuses on the search strategies, enabling efficient adaption to dynamic environment for enhanced safety and performance.

James Bourgeois is an M.S. student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering in May 2024. James received the Department of Defense SMART scholarship to fund his M.S. studies. He plans to work at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI after graduating. His research currently focuses on the detection and estimation of rainfall at sea using underwater acoustics. James’s hobbies include biking, swimming, going to the beach, and tinkering with electronics.

Undergraduate Interns

Piper Dienst is a class of 2025 undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Her research currently focuses on the detection and estimation of rainfall at sea using underwater acoustics. Piper’s hobbies include swimming, going on walks and playing fetch with her dog, and reading with some tea.

Isaiah Ortiz ‘26 is pursuing a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is working to advance his knowledge in signal processing by studying and adding to previously established student research. His current research looks into using a microphone array in combination with recorded video frames to calculate the direction in which a sound is transmitted. Isaiah’s hobbies include video gaming, dirt bike riding, and spending time with friends and family.

Nathanael Winchell is an undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is currently assisting on a project where rainfall is estimated by means of underwater passive listening. Nathanael’s hobbies include playing soccer, having fun with friends and family, and working on projects around the house.

Alumni

CJ Berg completed his MS degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in May 2023.  His thesis was “A comparison of two approaches for rainfall estimation from underwater acoustics in Buzzards Bay.” CJ also received his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.  His research focuses on the detection and estimation of rainfall at sea using underwater acoustics.  CJ won a DoD SMART scholarship to fund his MS degree.  He now works at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI.