Martin Siderius is the interim H. Chik M. Erzurumlu Dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science. His research combines physics and signal processing to advance ocean acoustic remote sensing and communications. One strand of that work uses random background noise, such as sounds generated by breaking waves, as acoustic overhead lighting for underwater imaging. A second strand applies marine mammal vocalizations, including whale calls, to identify species and estimate population density. Siderius develops sensors and signal processing methods for these applications on autonomous underwater vehicles, enabling extensive ocean measurements at low cost.
Siderius earned his Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington and his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Western Washington University. He spent nearly five years as a scientist at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in La Spezia, Italy, then held senior research roles at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Heat, Light, & Sound Research, Inc. (HLS) before joining Portland State University in 2008 as a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He served as department chair, then as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Maseeh College, before assuming the interim dean role.