Experience #
Principal Acoustic Scientist (Since Aug. 2025)
Andrenam, Inc.; Hawthorne, Calif.
Postdoctoral Scholar (Jan. 2024 - Jul. 2025; part-time since Aug. 2025)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego; La Jolla, Calif.
Graduate Research Assistant (Sept. 2017-Dec. 2023)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego; La Jolla, Calif.
Education #
Ph.D., Oceanography
Dissertation: Listening to Ice and Ocean: Machine Learning for Seismic and Acoustic Environmental Characterization
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
Sept. 2017 - Dec. 2023
M.A. (with Highest Distinction), Defense & Strategic Studies
Focus: Politics and Security of Asia-Pacific
U.S. Naval War College; Newport, Rhode Isl.
Sept. 2020 - June 2024
M.S. (with Distinction), Engineering Acoustics
Thesis: Time/Frequency Relationships for an FFT-Based Acoustic Modem
Naval Postgraduate School; Monterey, Calif.
June 2009 - Sept. 2010
B.S. (with Merit), Oceanography
Minor in German Language
United States Naval Academy; Annapolis, Md.
June 2005 - May 2009
Honors and Awards #
- Office of Naval Research Special Research Award: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Ocean Acoustics (2024-2026)
- McGinnis Family Award for Outstanding Performance in Nonresident Seminar Education, US Naval War College (2024)
- Best Student Paper, Signal Processing Technical Committee, 184th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (May 2023)
- National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (2018-2022)
- Chief of Naval Operations Award for Outstanding Research in Undersea Warfare (2010)
- Research Fellowship, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (2009-2010)
- Professor Emeritus Jerome Williams Oceanography Research Paper Award, US Naval Academy (2009)
- Bowman Scholar with Immediate Graduate Education, US Naval Academy (2008-2009)
Publications #
Journal Articles #
[5] R. McCarthy, Y. Zhang, S. Verburg, W. F. Jenkins, and P. Gerstoft, “Machine Learning in Acoustics: A Review and Open-source Repository,” Npj Acoust., vol. 1, no. 18, p. 18, Sep. 2025, doi: 10.1038/s44384-025-00021-w.
[4] W. F. Jenkins, P. Gerstoft, and Y. Park, “Geoacoustic inversion using Bayesian optimization with a Gaussian process surrogate model,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 156, no. 2, pp. 812–822, Aug. 2024, doi: 10.1121/10.0028177.
[3] W. F. Jenkins, P. Gerstoft, and Y. Park, “Bayesian optimization with Gaussian process surrogate model for source localization,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 154, no. 3, pp. 1459–1470, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.1121/10.0020839.
[2] C.-C. Chien, W. F. Jenkins, P. Gerstoft, M. Zumberge, and R. Mellors, “Automatic classification with an autoencoder of seismic signals on a distributed acoustic sensing cable,” Comput. Geotech., vol. 155, p. 105223, Jan. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.compgeo.2022.105223.
[1] W. F. Jenkins, P. Gerstoft, M. J. Bianco, and P. D. Bromirski, “Unsupervised Deep Clustering of Seismic Data: Monitoring the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica,” J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth, vol. 126, no. 9, Aug. 2021, doi: 10.1029/2021JB021716.
Conference Papers #
[4] W. F. Jenkins, P. Gerstoft, and Y. Park, “Source localization and acoustic inversion using Bayesian optimization with local Gaussian processes,” accepted to Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Acoust., Speech, Signal Process., Barcelona, Spain, May 2026.
[3] W. F. Jenkins and P. Gerstoft, “Bayesian Optimization with Gaussian Processes for Robust Localization,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Acoust., Speech, Signal Process., Seoul, Republic of Korea, Apr. 2024, pp. 6010–6014. doi: 10.1109/ICASSP48485.2024.10445808.
[2] W. Jenkins et al., “Analysis of underwater acoustic data collected under sea ice during the Useful Arctic Knowledge 2021 cruise,” in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Southampton, UK, 2022, p. 070003. doi: 10.1121/2.0001574.
[1] W. Jenkins, J. Rice, L. Ziomek, and D. Green, “Multi-channel MFSK Modulation and Demodulation through Short-Range, Large-Bandwidth, Underwater Acoustic Channels,” in Proceedings of the 10th European Conference on Underwater Acoustics, Istanbul, Turkey, Jul. 2010.
Presentations #
Conferences #
18. “Acoustic propagation as an indicator of mesoscale oceanographic features in the Beaufort Sea”. 189th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2 Dec. 2025.
17. “Integrating hydrophone data and distributed acoustic sensing for pile driving noise monitoring in offshore environments” (invited). 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America/25th International Congress on Acoustics, New Orleans, Louis., 20 May 2025.
16. “Underwater Acoustic Propagation Modeling” (invited). International Workshop for Sub-Ice Shelf Ocean Exploration with New Technologies, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 4 Nov. 2024.
15. “Bayesian optimization for geoacoustic inversion in shallow water”. International Conference on Underwater Acoustics, Bath, UK, 20 June 2024.
14. “Bayesian optimization for geoacoustic inversion” (invited). 186th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Ottawa, Canada, 15 May 2024.
13. “Bayesian Optimization with Gaussian Processes for Robust Localization”. IEEE 2024 International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 18 Apr. 2024.
12. “Deep clustering analysis for data exploration and anomaly detection in distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) systems” (invited). 185th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Sydney, Australia, 6 Dec. 2023.
11. “Reducing dimensionality of spectrograms using convolutional autoencoders” (invited). 184th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Chicago, Ill., 8 May 2023.
10. “Acoustic source localization using Bayesian optimization with a Gaussian process surrogate model”. 184th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Chicago, Ill., 8 May 2023.
9. “Applications of Bayesian optimization with a Gaussian process surrogate model in ocean acoustics” (invited). 183rd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Nashville, Tenn., 7 Dec. 2022.
8. “Source localization using Bayesian optimization with a Gaussian process surrogate model” (invited). 24th International Congress on Acoustics, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, 25 Oct. 2022.
7. “Analysis of acoustic data collected under sea ice during the Useful Arctic Knowledge 2021 arctic cruise”. International Conference on Underwater Acoustics, Southampton, UK, 20 June 2022.
6. “Acquisition functions in Bayesian optimization of ocean acoustic waveguides using Gaussian processes” (invited). 182nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Denver, Colo., 26 May 2022.
5. “Gaussian process model selection for parameter estimation in ocean acoustics”. 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Seattle, Wash., 2 Dec. 2021.
4. “Unsupervised Deep Clustering of Seismic Data” (poster). National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Conference, Virtual, 19-21 July 2021.
3. “Monitoring the Ross Ice Shelf: Deep Clustering of Antarctic Seismic Data” (talk and poster). U.S. Antarctic Science Meeting, Virtual, 15 July 2021.
2. “Identification of Icequakes and Earthquakes on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica using Unsupervised Deep Embedded Clustering”. AGU Fall Meeting 2020, Virtual, 15 Dec. 2020.
1. “Multi-channel MFSK Modulation and Demodulation through Short-Range, Large-Bandwidth, Underwater Acoustic Channels”. 10th European Conference on Underwater Acoustics, Istanbul, Turkey, 5-9 July 2010.
Lectures #
9. “Bayesian optimization for acoustic source localization and geoacoustic inversion.” Chaos, Computation, Analysis and Optimization Seminar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego, 17 Apr. 2025.
8. “Principles of Underwater Acoustics and Tactical Oceanography.” U.S. Submarine, Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, CA, 24 Jan. 2025.
7. “Dimensionality reduction with autoencoders.” Chaos, Computation, Analysis and Optimization Seminar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego, 1 Nov. 2024.
6. “Bayesian optimization with Gaussian processes.” Ocean Acoustics Seminar, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, Republic of Korea, 22 Apr. 2024.
5. “Estimating geoacoustic parameters using Bayesian optimization with a Gaussian process surrogate model.” Applied Ocean Science Seminar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego, 19 May 2022.
4. “Deep clustering seismic data from the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica.” Applied Ocean Science Seminar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego, 29 Apr. 2021.
3. “Deep Clustering Antarctic Seismic Data.” Machine Learning for Physical Applications (ECE 228), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, U.C. San Diego, 7 Apr. 2021.
2. “Unsupervised Deep Clustering of Seismic Data: Monitoring the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica.” Scripps Polar Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego, 5 Feb. 2021.
1. “Time/Frequency Relationships of an FFT-based Underwater Acoustic Modem.” Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, Calif., 23 July 2010.
Experimental & Field Experience #
10. Various locations (August 2025-present). Field work in support of acoustic hydrophone array deployment, testing, and development with Andrenam, Inc.
9. Pacific Ocean, off Oregon/Washington (June-July 2025). Embarked on R/V Sally Ride for five weeks to performed acoustic measurements of internal wave generation and propagation off the Washington Shelf.
8. Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean (Feb. 2025). Measured air-ice-water interface acoustics using microphones, cryophones, and hydrophones on sea ice 140 NM northeast of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Conducted during a pioneering flight with NPS and U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory.
7. New England Sea Mounts (July 2024). Embarked aboard R/V Roger Revelle to collect and synthesize oceanographic data during a 3.5-week, multi-ship ocean acoustics experiment.
6. Arctic Ocean, north of Svalbard, Norway (June 2021). With Useful Arctic Knowledge program run by the Nansen Environmental Remote Sensing Center in Bergen, Norway, embarked on Norwegian Coast Guard icebreaker KV Svalbard to conduct sea ice surveys, CTD profiles, and acoustic localization and passive sensing.
5. Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas (Aug. 2013). While on board USS Providence, assisted with first successful launch of an AUV from a submarine torpedo tube for the Naval Research Laboratory’s Sea Robin and experimental fuel cell (XFC) program.
4. NPS, Monterey, Calif. (June-Sept. 2010). Conducted laboratory measurements of non-linear effects on oscillating strings, and worked to replicate such effects with transducers in an anechoic chamber.
3. San Francisco Bay, Calif. (July 2009). Deployed the Seaweb underwater acoustic network to convey real-time, in-situ data from a current profiler at depth in Raccoon Strait to the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) website.
2. St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia (June 2008). Embarked research intern for two weeks with NRL for Unet 2008 sea trials; deployed and operated an underwater acoustic network, characterized the communication channel, and evaluated network performance.
1. Independent Bowman Scholarship research with NRL, Acoustic Signal Processing and Systems Branch (May 2008-May 2009). Analyzed impact of biologic noise on underwater acoustic communications signal-to-noise ratios.
Service and Outreach #
Volunteer Activities #
- Technical Program Organizer, Acoustical Society of America (Jul. 2024-May 2026).
- Lead Data Analyst and Refugee Resettlement Case Manager, #AfghanEvac Coalition (since Aug. 2021).
- STEM tutor, UCSD Student Veterans Resource Center (Mar. 2022-June 2023).
- Student Council, Acoustical Society of America (May 2022-May 2023).
- Student representative, SIO Marine Sciences Development Center Committee (Oct. 2020-Sep. 2021).
- Elected student representative, SIO Graduate Student Council (July-Oct. 2018, resigned due to deployment).
Reviewer #
- Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
- Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface
- IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering
- IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
- Seismological Research Letters
- The Cryosphere
Membership #
- Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- The Oceanography Society (TOS)
- United States Naval Institute (USNI)