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About

Kanchana Bandara is a leading researcher in marine autonomous systems, with a focus on advancing ocean monitoring through unmanned vehicles. Her work centers on the deployment of autonomous surface and underwater vehicles for persistent, high-resolution observation of marine ecosystems, particularly in challenging environments like the Arctic Ocean and highly productive shelf areas. Bandara’s major contributions include demonstrating the integration of fisheries research echosounders on platforms such as the Sailbuoy and Wave Glider, enabling continuous, cost-effective acoustic monitoring of zooplankton and mid-trophic level organisms—a task traditionally limited by ship-based surveys. Her 2019 paper on autonomous surface vehicles for zooplankton monitoring has garnered 10 citations, while her collaborative work on the GLIDER project, which deployed three distinct autonomous platforms in the Arctic, has received 7 citations. Notably, the GLIDER project showcased an innovative, flexible, and cost-efficient offshore monitoring approach, revealing new discoveries in the Arctic Ocean. Bandara’s research is pivotal in shifting marine observation from episodic ship campaigns to persistent, autonomous data collection, offering transformative tools for understanding ocean dynamics and ecosystem health. Her work inspires students and researchers to explore the intersection of robotics, acoustics, and marine science for sustainable ocean exploration.