The Ping

The BEAMS Program Newsletter Vol. 1, 2024 February


Welcome to The Ping! In an effort to broadcast all the great work of our BEAMS students and to provide updates on recent and future events, we hope to ‘publish’ this newsletter twice a year. We welcome all feedback, and hope that others will contribute to future issues of The Ping!

Smooth Seas, Doc Sautter


Program News


Current Stats as of January 2024

The BEAMS Program is GROWING!

Alumni, Faculty, and Current BEAMers at the 2023 BEAMS Symposium

Since 2007, 242 students have become BEAMers! In order to be a BEAMer, a student must complete GEOL 239 (Intro. To Seafloor Mapping, or “SeaMap”), GEOL 339 (Seafloor Research), and either GEOL 107 (Intro. to Coastal and Marine Geology) or GEOL 257 (Marine Geology).

Currently, 36 BEAMers are on campus (i.e., have not yet graduated), as well as an additional 22 “SeaMap” students who are eligible to become BEAMers by completing the additional coursework.

  • 106 of these BEAMers are women (44%)!
  • Of the 198 BEAMers who have graduated, 124 (63%) have pursued some level of employment or graduate school in hydrography.
  • Nearly 100% of BEAMS graduates who seek employment find employment within a few months of graduating.

During this 2023-2024 academic year we are having our largest ever ‘BEAMS graduating class’, totaling 25 BEAMers (6 in December 2023 and an additional 19 in May 2024)! Nearly all these students are interested in pursuing either employment or graduate studies in some area of hydro.

BEAMS’ Teaching Team is Also Growing!

In addition to our full-time faculty members Dr. Haley Cabaniss and Dr. Scott Harris, and Emerita faculty Dr. Leslie ‘Doc’ Sautter, alumni Lauren Maurizio, Jennifer Kist, and Bailey Horn are also extremely valuable adjuncts teaching in the program.

Lauren Fuqua Maurizio (Geology ‘02) has been a full-time adjunct in the Geology Department for several years, but now splits her time between managing projects with Blue Dot GeoHydrographic and teaching GEOL 239 – Intro to Seafloor Mapping (each semester). She also teaches GEOL 107 – Intro to Coastal and Marine Geology, a strong recruiting pathway for new Marine Biology and other majors into the BEAMS Program.

Jennifer Kist (BEAMS ’12), of the US Army Corps of Engineers (Charleston District) has taught Ocean Characterization and Mapping (GEOL 395/495) as an adjunct instructor once per academic year for the past 5 years. This course has been a program changer, as it introduces our advanced students to ArcGIS, Hypack, Fledermaus, FMGT, while broadening and strengthening their hydro knowledge and abilities.

Bailey Horn (BEAMS ’19) recently finished her M.S. in Environmental Sustainability and Studies at the College of Charleston. She now works with the USACE and has begun to teach as an adjunct in the BEAMS Program!. This semester she is teaching Explore the Seafloor (see Curriculum Updates, below)


Summer 2023 Highlights

NOAA Hydrographic Training Cruises

Summer Internships

Several students had excellent summer internships, a few of which are highlighted below.


Where Did Our 2023 Graduates Go?

  •  GeoDynamics  (an NV5 company) won the prize this year for hiring the most BEAMers! Bosie Stalvey, Abby Satterwhite, Hannah Berkimer, and Shelby Maier are now full-timers, joining at least 5 other full time BEAMers.
  •  Blue Dot GeoHydrographic  added Sean Munson and Ben Ross to their contractor list, joining several other BEAMS alumni.
  • Bailey Horn ,who was a BEAMS undergrad (BEAMS ’19), graduated from the Masters in Environmental Studies Program and joined the Charleston District office of the  US Army Corps of Engineers . Bailey is also teaching as an adjunct instructor in our program (see below)!
  • McHenry Jackson was hired by  Oceaneering , as an offshore surveyor and data analyst.
  • Anna D’Agostino now works for  Fugro , with a great job in Aberdeen, Scotland, after an amazing summer surveying uncharted waters in Greenland fjords (see story, above).
  •  Cashman Dredging  recently hired December graduate, Declan Rozen. He’s the company’s newest Field Engineer.
  •  3D at Depth  hired Sean Maloney, also a December graduate.

BEAMS Alumni Updates

Spotlight on BEAMS alumna, Hayley Drennon (BEAMS ’18)

Hayley Drennon (left) is a Senior Research Staff Assistant at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, working with Dr. Vicki Ferrini in the Seabed 2030 initiative.

Last summer Hayley was the lead mapper during an exciting expedition onboard Schmidt Ocean’s vessel, R/V Falkor. The scientific team discovered a new hydrothermal vent on August 2, 2023, documented  here .

So much to explore, so little time! You make us proud, Hayley!

Alumni Giving Back to BEAMS

May 2023 – Feb 2024

In addition to our alumni teaching staff, several alumni have also recently contributed their time to the program:

Ransom White (BEAMS ’07) and Lauren White (Blue Dot GeoHydrographic) generously supported the boat-time for the Data Acquisition Day. Ransom (left) also piloted a day-cruise on the SCDNR vessel in May 2023.

Josh Mode (BEAMS ’07) (right) returned from Ecuador to work on our Data Acquisition Day cruise (page 2). Josh continues to work with us to help raise funds for the program while growing his LLC, Caretta Hydrographic Solutions.

Chrissy Hefron Maschmeyer (BEAMS ’13) (left) visited campus during the Fall Alumni Weekend and spoke to Marine Geology and other BEAMS students about “Career Perspectives”. She is the Operations Standards & Talent Lead with 3D at Depth.

Alumni Shots

We love to hear from our alumni and often receive photos! Keep ‘em coming!

(Right) Geodynamics’ BEAMS alumni Matt Hughes, Hannah Berkimer and Justin Peers (BEAMS ’13, ’19 and ’11, respectively) worked together this past summer.


Courses Offered

Fall Semester 2023

  • Doc offered Seafloor Research (GEOL 339) in the newly expanded Viz Lab. In the fall semester, all students worked with 2023 data from the Pacific collected by the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. In the last several years, student projects were focused on Okeanos data from the Blake Plateau and Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
    • 11 students completed the course (5 Marine Biology majors and 6 Geology majors). These students are now full-fledged BEAMers! Congratulations!
    • 6 research posters were generated and will be presented at the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting (New Orleans, February) and the 2024 BEAMS Symposium (Charleston, April).
  • Introduction to Seafloor Mapping (“SeaMap” – GEOL 239) was taught during Express II (1/2 semester) by alumna Lauren Maurizio (Blue Dot Hydrogeo). Students who complete SeaMap are affectionately known as either “SeaMappers” or “WannaBEAMers”!
    • 13 students completed this condensed and intense course.
    • 9 of these students have opted to continue their hydrographic training by enrolling in spring semester’s Seafloor Research (GEOL 339) course.
  • Our advanced hydro course, Ocean Characterization and Mapping (GEOL 395/495), taught by alumna Jennifer Kist (USACE) has been offered once per academic year for the past 5 years. In the fall semester, students worked with Hypack, Qimera, ArcGIS, and Fledermaus, generating StoryMaps of their research projects.
    • 7 BEAMers and 2 grad students (Masters of Environmental Studies and Sustainability program) completed the course. Several will present their work at the 2024 BEAMS Symposium in April.

Spring Semester 2024

  • This semester we are offering Intro to Seafloor Mapping (GEOL 239), or “SeaMap” during Express I.
    • 11 students are enrolled.
  • Doc is teaching Seafloor Research (GEOL 339) for her last time! This semester Dr. Cabaniss is sitting in and will be very helpful assisting students with interpreting seamount characteristics and other tectonic features. As with las fall’s class, students are using the 2023 Okeanos Explorer multibeam data from the Pacific.
    • 12 students are taking the course (5 Marine Biology majors, 1 Computer Science Major and 6 Geology majors).
    • These students will present 6 research posters at the 2024 BEAMS Symposium (Charleston, April).
  • Piloted in 2022, we are offering a new GEOL 395 Special Topics course, Explore the Seafloor (being taught by BEAMS alumna, Bailey Horn) in which 11 students will generate overview highlight movies of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer’s Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives, primarily from the most recent 2023 dives in the Pacific. Students will also generate bathymetric and slope surfaces (2D and 3D) to show the dive track and area geomorphology, and they will use the Dive Annotations to document the biota encountered and characterize the substrate. Each student will generate an image gallery of all the pertinent info for a dive as an additional resource.
    • An example movie generated by Abby Satterwhite last spring semester can be found  here.  We’ll have at least 12 additional movies like this created in Spring 2024.

Workshops Offered

September 2023 – January 2024

  • In September, Chesapeake Technologies generously offered a SonarWiz weekend workshop training, taught by the magnanimous Harold Orlinsky.
    • 12 students and 2 faculty completed the 2.5 day training.
    • 3 of the students conducted 1-credit Independent Studies to utilize their new skills and complete project deliverables.

  • Chesapeake Technologies also offered a 4-day SonarWiz training course for professionals here on campus December 11-14.  This was the third such training course offered by Chesapeake Technologies at CofC.
    • 11 BEAMS Program students took part in the training.

  • BEAMS offered a QPS Qimera weekend workshop training in late January. Marc Fortner from QPS instructed the 2.5-day workshop. We look forward to offering QPS workshops on a regular basis.
    • 10 students and 2 faculty completed the training.

Announcing: BEAMS Investment Partners (B.I.P.s)

The BEAMS Program has been successful not only because of our faculty, students, and opportunities we provide, but also because of our partnerships in the academic, research and operational marine communities. To continue to grow the BEAMS Program and provide the high-caliber workforce pipeline needed in the marine industry, the College of Charleston is expanding its industry partnerships and securing philanthropic support for BEAMS students and faculty.

Companies and organizations who partner with BEAMS are provided with early access to the next generation of experienced ocean science surveyors through internships, alumni engagement opportunities and one-on-one interaction with top BEAMS students who are about to hit the job market. BEAMS Investment Partners – B.I.P.s – will have a competitive edge in recruiting experienced and talented BEAMS graduates, and will gain a competitive advantage in the marine industry and a strong return on investment.

GOLD, SILVER, and BRONZE level B.I.P. sponsorships are 3-year commitments of $10k, $5k, and $2.5k per year, respectively. These critical sponsorships allow the BEAMS Program to plan forward to continue offering all the current activities while generating numerous new field courses and on-the-water opportunities, professional development, and curriculum experiences for our growing number of students.

Join our current BIPS: eTrac, a Woolpert Company (Silver), Rock Botom Hydro, LLC (Silver), and Blue Dot GeoHydrographic, LLC (Bronze).

Become a B.I.P. today to help GROW the Program! Click  here  to learn more.


See you at the 2024 BEAMS Symposium!

Contact Leslie “Doc” Sautter (SautterL@cofc.edu) for comments, questions, donations, or to catch up!

Alumni, Faculty, and Current BEAMers at the 2023 BEAMS Symposium