Dedication: James Ferguson

This SUT Polar AUV Guide is dedicated to the memory of James S. Ferguson (1947-2016). As Vice President of International Submarine Engineering Research Ltd., Port Coquitlam, British Columbia from 1981–2013 James was a valued colleague, deeply knowledgeable mentor and jovial friend to many people in the underwater vehicle community.

James was an excellent raconteur, with his own inimitable style. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of who was doing what with AUVs, and, without giving away secrets or breaking confidences, he gave me advise on many occasions on what methods, technologies or instruments were either likely to work well or be a real pain. It is that sort of detailed knowledge and practical help that this Guide seeks to provide and foster - and hence this Dedication to James Ferguson is most appropriate.

Gwyn Griffiths, Southampton April 2020

Biography

1967-1981: Raised in Ottawa, Canada, as a young teenager he joined the Sea Cadets. From 1967 he served with the Royal Canadian Navy as well as on exchange with the Royal Navy in Singapore and the UK. His initial service was on the destroyer HMCS St. Croix (1967-1970) before volunteering for Submarines, serving on HMCS Rainbow and HMCS Ojibwa, now a museum at Port Burwell, Ontario. Lieutenant Commander James Ferguson commanded the 2400 ton diesel electric submarine, HMCS Okanagan, from 1978-1980, winning the Maritime Commander’s Award for operational efficiency in 1980.

1981 - 2013: James Ferguson resigned from the Navy and joined ISE to take command of the commercial submarine Auguste Piccard that was searching for the wreck of the treasure ship San Jose, off Cartagena, Columbia. In 1982, he was appointed as Vice President, I.S.E. Ltd., responsible for development and sale of ISE’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.  He was  responsible for the development of the Dolphin ASV, with the high speed tow vehicle Aurora, and the ARCS, Theseus, and Explorer AUVs: a total of 32 vehicles ranging in weight from 50 to 9600 kg, depth capability to 5000 meters and range up to 1400 km. Over the same period, he was involved with a variety of studies and designs to support new application development with government and industry.

Between 1982 and 1998, James Ferguson was also responsible for the life-cycle maintenance of the Canadian Navy Pisces IV and SDL-1 manned submersibles. In 1983 he led the AUV division to qualify for the NATO AQAP-4 Quality Assurance program, gaining ISO-9002 accreditation in 1994 and  ISO 9001 the following year.

In 1984 he as invited to serve on the Executive of the British Columbia Industry Development Association. In this capacity, he has gained an understanding of the needs of the 200 member companies and made presentations on behalf of the association to senior levels of government. From 1986 to 1989, he was the Chairman of this Association. He was appointed as an advisor to the Minister of National Defence between 1987 and 1993. In 1990, he became Co-chairman of the Marine Technology Society ROV Conference.

In 2004, James Ferguson was invited by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects to be the Secretary and Vice Chair of the Engineering Committee on Oceanic Resources (ECOR) Specialist Panel on Underwater Vehicles. At the time, the panel, with a membership of AUV experts from eight nations, had a six-year mandate to consider and report on issues relevant to the operational use of AUVs and gliders. This Guide grew from the work of that Panel.

QUALIFICATIONS AND AWARDS

• Royal Military College - Military Studies - (1963 - 1967)

• Canadian Navy Staff School - (1972)

• Canadian Navy - Combat Control Officers Course - (1975)

• Royal Navy - Submarine Attack Co-ordinators Course - (1977)

• Royal Navy - Submarine Commanding Officers Qualifying Course (Perisher) - (1978)

• Master Mariner Certificate (Foreign Going Steamship) - (1980)

• Canadian Navy Destroyer Command Qualification - (1980)

• BC Government Science Council Award – (1998)

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

• Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems – Member

• Marine Technology Society - Member

• Engineering Committee on Oceanic Resources – Panel Vice Chair.

• Royal Institute of Naval Architects - Member

This text was gathered from James Ferguson's ECOR CV of 2007 and his Royal Canadian Navy obituary.