Dr. Samuel Laney started as PMEL's Engineering Development Division (EDD) Director in January 2024. Sam brings to the lab the ideal mix of expertise in marine research and instrumentation engineering as both an oceanographer and an engineer with 30 years of experience creating new measurement approaches to meet ocean research challenges.
Sam’s prior positions include Brookhaven National Laboratory, the private sector in the US and the UK, and most recently Senior Scientist and also Director of WHOI’s ocean technology innovation accelerator (AVAST) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Sam completed his graduate work in Oceanography and Engineering at Oregon State University and recently completed his Masters in Education at UMass Amherst, exploring new ways to educate specialists in ocean science and technology. From October to December 2023 he held a Fulbright Research Chair in Transdisciplinary Arctic Research at Universite Laval in Quebec.