16 Oct 2008
Pioneering marine energy company Aquamarine Power is boosting its research and development capabilities with the appointment of three marine renewables research specialists.
Dr. Garth Bryans, Dr. Ronan Doherty and Dr. Kenneth Doherty join Aquamarine as Senior Marine Resource Analyst, Chief Technical Officer and Numerical Modelling Engineer, respectively. All aged under-30, the trio of next- generation experts hail from Dublin, Ireland.
Dr. Garth Bryans, 28, joins Aquamarine’s Commercial Development team from Airtricity, where he was Portfolio Risk Analyst and then Technology Analyst. As Senior Marine Resource Analyst, Bryans will head up Aquamarine’s site development function, as the firm begins to consider potential areas for deployment of its Oyster® hydro-electric wave power converter. Bryans holds a PhD from University College Dublin and Queens University Belfast, where he was part of the award-winning wave power research group. His research into the impact of tidal stream devices on electrical power systems was supervised by Dr. Fox, Professors Crossely and O’Malley and Professor Trevor Whitaker, Aquamarine’s Head of R&D.
Dr Ronan Doherty, 29, formerly Trading Risk Manager at Airtricity, will head up Aquamarine’s Research & Development function as Chief Technical Officer. Doherty holds a PhD from the highly acclaimed University College Dublin following his research into Power Systems Engineering, supervised by Professor Mark O’Malley.
Dr Kenneth Doherty, 25, joins Aquamarine’s Engineering team as Numerical Modelling Engineer. The younger of the Doherty brothers holds a PhD in Fluid Mechanics from University College Dublin. Doherty’s research specialised in examining the dynamics of shock wave structures which arise in fluid mechanics.
Aquamarine’s Chief Executive Officer, Martin McAdam, said: “We have recruited strong site development and engineering teams; and we are delighted that Garth, Ronan and Kenneth are going to join us. They are a formidable research team and will play a vital part in the ongoing growth and success of the company.”
The company’s Oyster® hydro-electric wave power converter is scheduled for testing at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney next year. Last month, Aquamarine Power signed a second contract with EMEC to test its Neptune™ tidal energy device at their Eday site. The new agreement will make Aquamarine Power Scotland’s only marine power company to develop and test both wave and tidal energy devices simultaneously.
