Leadership
Sam Kelly
Chair Sam is a mechanical engineering student and the founder of Duke Conservation Tech. Originally from Rotorua, New Zealand, his fascination with nature (particularly the ocean) began at a young age, and he has worked to find ways to integrate this interest with engineering. Within Conservation Tech at Duke, he has worked on the UAV Computer Vision project and is current working on the hardware (PCB) design for TAG. Outside of Conservation Tech he has been project manager and technical lead for autonomous flight systems of Duke University’s semi-final entry into the $11M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE and worked for autonomous aquaculture start-up Forever Oceans as a robotic engineering intern. |
Ashley Blawas
Board Member Ashley is a Biomedical Engineering student at Duke University and current Vice President of External Affairs at Duke Conservation Tech. With a deep interest in marine animal physiology Ashley has used Conservation Tech TAG prototypes to test the Reflective Pulse Oximetry module on Bottlenose Dolphins. She was also formally lead of the Lineless Fishing project to eliminate vertical lines from crab pots. |
Dr. Douglas Nowacek
Board Member, Senior Advisor Doug is an Associate Professor of Conservation Technology, jointly appointed between Duke University’s Marine Lab and School of Engineering. Doug’s primary research is focused on the link between acoustic and motor behavior in marine mammals. A large focus of his current research is the effect of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals. He is also interested in enabling technical solutions within the marine space, including protecting artisanal fisheries from IUU fishing. |
Henrik Cox
Board Member Henrik is a mechanical engineering student at Duke University and current Vice President of Internal Operations at Duke Conservation Tech. Henrik is also current lead for the Sea Turtle LED project, a system designed to reduce sea turtle bycatch. Henrik has been involved in the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE and has worked for renowned underwater robotics company OpenROV. |
Advisors |
Alex Dehgan
CEO, ConservationXLabs Alex Dehgan is the CEO and co-founder of Conservation X Labs, a startup for tech innovation for conservation and development. Dr. Alex Dehgan recently served as the Chief Scientist at USAID, with rank of Assistant Administrator, and founded the Global Development Lab. Prior to USAID, Alex worked in multiple positions within the Office of the Secretary, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, at the Dept. of State. |
Stephen Lee
Chief Scientist, US Army Research Office As Chief Scientist at the Army Research Office he is responsible for advocating science and engineering basic research across the Army. ARO’s mission is to serve as the Army’s premier extramural basic research agency in the engineering, physical, information and life sciences; developing and exploiting innovative advances to insure the Nation’s technological superiority. ARO’s research mission represents the most long-range Army view for changes in its technology and consists of academic and industrial research efforts nation-wide. |