Eric Thosteson, Ph.D.
Principal Engineer
ethosteson@teamorca.org

A visionary in the design of affordable environmental observation technologies,
Dr. Eric Thosteson, Principal Engineer at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, is making water quality and marine habitat characteristics more accessible to scientists, educators, natural resource managers, conservation groups and the public. Dr. Thosteson leads the organization’s engineering team in designing cutting edge technologies to advance the organization’s mission to study and protect marine ecosystems and the species they sustain through the development of innovative technologies, science based conservation action and public education.

From a unique program at West Virginia Wesleyan College concentrating on engineering applications of advanced physics, Dr. Thosteson investigated the principles of sensor design and analysis. As a graduate student at the University of Florida’s Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Department, he applied his Engineering Physics background to the design of several coastal observation systems. Eric’s M.S. and Ph.D. research in Coastal Engineering focused on the study of water waves, their contributions to basic transport processes in coastal zones, and measurement of these processes in the energetic coastal environment.

Before joining the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, Dr. Thosteson held a joint appointment in Ocean Engineering and Oceanography on the faculty at Florida Institute of Technology, where he taught Water Wave Theory, Ocean Instrumentation Design, Coastal Processes and Hydroacoustics. Eric is a licensed Professional Engineer in Electronics Engineering and serves as an Adjunct Professor at Florida Institute of Technology.