At Mcgregor Geoscience, all services are delivered by personnel who are trained, qualified and experienced in their relevant disciplines. To facilitate the delivery of our services we provide our personnel with the training, resources and support they need to meet the requirements of our clients on each and every project. We continually strive to ensure that all our deliverables represent the very best we can provide to our client. In doing so, we continue to build on a reputation for excellence and quality within our industry. We do this while maintaining the highest standards in safety and quality.
Management and Operations Support
Senior management at McGregor has a combined experience resume totaling over 75 years. This coupled with a combination of experienced professionals and recent graduate trainees gives McGregor the capability to perform projects that incorporate the latest technology and methods while ensuring proven operational techniques and procedures are employed to maximize results and minimize impact. Following are brief profiles for several of our key personnel:
R.L. (Rick) Hunter, CET – General Manager
Mr. Hunter has over 35 years of marine and land survey experience working both domestically and internationally. Mr. Hunter’s experience ranges from field survey data collection and project management to business development and operations management. In addition to his activities in survey practice, Mr. Hunter has also been trained in both quality and safety management and oversees the development and implementation of the QHSE programs of McGregor GeoScience through documented systems and procedures. Mr. Hunter ensures compliance with all safety, regulatory and contractual requirements for all McGregor projects. Mr. Hunter brings a hands-on approach to his day-to-day management of McGregor and his personal experience with marine survey operations enables him to deliver services to McGregor’s clients that are based on safety and quality at all levels.
Carol Bartlett, B.Sc., B.A., P.Geo - General Manager, McGregor GeoScience and Environmental Limited - NL
Ms. Bartlett is alumni from Memorial University holding a B.Sc., a B.A, and is currently a M.Sc. Candidate. She has worked in the oil and gas industry for over 11 years, 6 as a practicing geophysicist involved in offshore data acquisition and interpretation and has operational experience which extends across the North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea and offshore Brazil. In addition to Ms. Bartlett's oil and gas experience she also has 5 years experience fostering partnerships between academia and private enterprise, primarily acting as liaison between Memorial University and natural resource companies, facilitating the process of commercializing innovative research and development projects with a specific focus on Intellectual Property. Ms. Bartlett is the acting General Manager for McGregor GeoScience and Environmental Limited and is based in St. John's NL. Her main roles are business development and leading a team of geoscience professionals focused on maximizing the achievable results from data processing and interpretation. She is a Professional Geophysicist and Geologist with PEGNL and is active in the geoscience and environmental business community
Craig J. Brown, PhD. - Chief Environmental Scientist
Dr. Brown has 16 years experience in cross-disciplinary science, with specialism in benthic ecology and seafloor habitat mapping. Dr. Brown earned his PhD from the University of Portsmouth in the UK in the field of marine fouling ecology in 1998, and has since held positions in Government science (UK and Canada), academia and the private sector, and has 38 peer-reviewed publications in main-stream scientific literature, and numerous government and contract reports. Dr. Brown's post-doctoral work has focused on the application of seafloor acoustics (multibeam sonar, sidescan sonar, single beam acoustics) for studying, mapping and monitoring benthic ecosystems, and over this time he has gained experience working across the fields of marine ecology, geology, geophysics and oceanography. His recent R&D work has focused on extracting quantitative data from acoustic backscatter from multibeam sonar systems for use in species, community and habitat distribution modeling. In recent years Dr. Brown has also focused on the development and application of benthic monitoring techniques utilizing a range of methods (acoustic, video, photographic and in situ sampling approaches). He is also currently an Adjunct Professor at Memorial University, Newfoundland.
John J.McG. Stewart, M. Sc. – Senior Geoscientist
Mr. Stewart in addition to being the founder of McGregor GeoScience has over 40 years of practical experience in marine and land geosciences. His experience and familiarity with many aspects of geoscience data collection, processing, interpretation and reporting includes experience at all levels of the industry from field geologist and party manager to business development and owner. Mr. Stewart has an enviable resume of domestic and international projects to his credit and has often served as a mentor and advisor to journeyman geoscience professionals who have entered the industry under his employ. Mr. Stewart has numerous professional memberships and affiliations and is a well respected authority and source of knowledge in the industry. His understanding and knowledge of shallow seismic techniques, its applications and limitations can be witnessed in the accuracy and thoroughness of his project geology reports.
Jane Hawken, B. Sc. – Geoscience Manager
Ms. Hawken earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Dalhousie University and is currently enrolled in several courses at Dalhousie as she works toward her MSc. in Earth Sciences. She has been employed at various levels in the geoscience community since 2000. She joined Mcgregor GeoScience in 2004 and has participated in a number of projects at both the field and office level and has developed strong skills in the assembly and collation of multi-layered geoscience reporting and mapping deliverables. Her skills at the project level have enabled McGregor to take projects from the acquisition stages through processing and interpretation to the compilation of a set of in depth and comprehensive deliverables that provide enhanced value for our client base. Ms. Hawken is experienced in the use and application of a variety of data acquisition, processing and visualization software suites for seismic interpretation and mapping. She has been deployed as a client representative ensuring quality control and specifications monitoring for a number of seismic data acquisition projects. Ms. Hawken’s ability to perform under pressure, in extenuating circumstances has made her a strong addition to the McGregor team of field and office based project personnel.
Justin McLaughlin - Senior Surveyor and Party Chief
Mr. McLaughlin has 10 years of experience in offshore & terrestrial field survey. He carries a diploma in Geomatics Engineering and Advanced Marine Geomatics. Mr. McLaughlin has a strong mechanical and electronics aptitude, as well as proven leadership skills and a keen attention to detail. As party chief for McGregor’s research vessel operations he is responsible for and handles all onboard client liaison, data acquisition, science crew management, onboard QHSE implementation, as well as daily reporting between the vessel operations and onshore management. Past experience in geohazard and environmental surveys, cable and pipeline route surveys, subsea inspections, marine construction and harbour development, hydrographic surveys and a number of related activities has given Mr. McLaughlin a broad base of knowledge regarding techniques and equipment spreads that make him an invaluable member of our project team, and a leader that has the respect of his team members.
Ulrich Lobsiger, M.Sc. - Ocean Science Manager
Mr. Lobsiger has more than 30 years of experience in applied oceanography and project management in Canada, after arriving from Switzerland with a M.Sc. degree in environmental chemistry earned at the University of Bern. He first worked with a fisheries team in the Beaufort Sea Project and then pursued studies in oceanography at Dalhousie University that led to Arctic missions in Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound regions. As a consultant based in Halifax, Mr. Lobsiger was then involved in early offshore plays on the Grand Banks and the Scotian Shelf, including with baseline studies and pipeline surveys. In the mid-eighties, his own company started developing intelligent deep-sea cameras for global markets. In parallel to instrument design, his firm performed imaging surveys with various camera systems based on 35mm film and video in most Atlantic Canadian waters and in the North Sea. Target markets included: Seafloor surveys with stereo-photogrammetry and sediment profile imaging, observations of fishing gear in action, turbine monitoring and particle flux through the water column. Various development projects evolved from such investigations, including a patented biomonitoring methodology. Ulrich Lobsiger has extensive project management experience in most aspects of practical oceanography spanning private and multi-sector programs. He has been responsible for expanding McGregor's environmental capability since early 2009, to complement its traditional marine survey strengths focused on geophysics.
Lin (Luke) Lu, Ph.D. – Marine Ecologist
Dr. Lu has 20 years experience in marine ecology in academic, institutional and industrial sectors. He earned his PhD in Marine Ecology & Ecotoxicology at the City University of Hong Kong in 1999, after having worked seven years as a MSc-level researcher at the Third Institute of Oceanography in China, participating in marine surveys ranging from the biodiversity of mangrove ecosystems to deep-sea missions on Manganese Nodules in the North Pacific Ocean. After receiving his doctoral degree, Dr. Lu was involved with toxicity bioassays and macrobenthic infaunal recovery as a function of petroleum contamination and similar studies at the Tropical Marine Science Institute in Singapore. In Canada since 2004, Lin Lu has investigated aquatic invasive species and the utility of various benthic indices for DFO in Vancouver and the impact of salmon and shellfish culture on nearshore soft-bottom benthos as a Research Fellow with Dalhousie University. After joining McGregor GeoScience in April 2010, he has focused on benthic taxonomy of Greenland sediment samples, both in a field lab in Nuuk and at the company’s facilities. Dr. Lu has 33 publications in the fields of soft-sediment benthos, recolonization, relationships between macrobenthic communities and environmental variables.
Marc Thibodeau, B. Sc – Operations Manager
Mr. Thibodeau joined McGregor GeoScience after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in physics at St. Francis Xavier University and an Advanced Diploma in Marine Geomatics, from the Centre of Geographic Sciences. With his background in hydrographic surveying which includes but is not limited to bathymetric data acquisition and analysis; Mr. Thibodeau has acquired multiple years of experience in business development and operations management. Along with a wide-range of knowledge pertaining to the acquisition and processing of a wide variety of hydrographic and oceanographic data sets, Mr. Thibodeau offers clients his work ethic, industry knowledge, as well as organizational and problem solving skills.
Chris Wedler, Advanced Diploma, Marine Geomatics – Project Hydrographer
Mr. Wedler joined McGregor GeScience in June 2007 after several years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a hydrographer and Physical Scientist and as a field hydrographer and surveyor with several private survey firms. Mr. Wedler offers McGregor’s clients a wealth of knowledge pertaining to all elements of the acquisition and processing of a wide variety of hydrographic and oceanographic data sets including the installation, calibration and operation of a variety of sonar survey sensors including multibeam and side scan. Mr. Wedler is extremely familiar with the acquisition and reduction of tidal and bathymetric data for the compilation and presentation of hydrographic charts. In addition Mr. Wedler is also well versed in the use of many navigation, processing and data visualization packages currently in use in the industry.
Wayne Arsenault, CET – Senior Systems Tech
Mr. Arsenault has been involved in the operation, service and maintenance of marine data acquisition, communication and power systems for marine geophysical surveys for over 20 years. He is responsible for ensuring the safe and reliable installation of all McGregor GeoScience survey vessel systems including electrical, electronic and hydraulic based equipment. In his numerous years of project based experience Mr. Arsenault has installed and maintained a wide variety of data transmission and survey systems for marine seismic, construction and engineering projects worldwide. He brings clients a unique knowledge of training and hands on experience that is invaluable when working in the harsh marine environment, often in remote and logistically difficult locations. Mr. Arsenault’s ability and ingenuity have been the foundation for may successful marine survey campaigns.
In addition to the above referenced key personnel, Mcgregor GeoScience underpins all our marine survey operations with personnel who excel at their respective levels.