Peter Sugarman, Independent Researcher

For more than 50 years, I have pursued a deep passion to establish two-way communication with dolphins. This has included many years of dolphin research, study, and technology development, and many hours spent with dolphins. I believe that dolphins want to hear from us – but in a language that we co-create together. In this collaborative project informed by multiple disciplines, I am joined by a team of equally passionate colleagues, friends, and social innovators from my wide array of lifelong connections. Together we have developed our mission, vision and values for Acoustic Interactions, which we launched in 2012.

Why do we want to talk with dolphins? I believe we can have mutual exchanges of information with dolphins and we can learn from each other. We don’t want to just observe dolphins, we want to know their stories, learn from their wisdom, and acknowledge their intelligence. They are highly social beings. With today’s focus on social-emotional learning, the opportunities are endless for our engagement with dolphins. We also want to make it possible for humans to recognize that we are not alone in the universe, which is why we will base our work on scientifically verifiable, credible processes. I bring a unique set of skills to achieve this: experience in marine behavioral ecology and animal behavior; computer science, artificial intelligence and software development; experimental cognitive psychology; integral ecology, and underwater acoustics.

My early career experience includes training in underwater acoustics as a sonar technician with the US Navy (1971). In 1980, I worked with the Human/Dolphin Foundation at Marine World/Africa USA in Redwood City, CA on the JANUS project in their attempt to communicate with two captive adolescent dolphins. In the mid 80’s, I produced a field guide to the Orca Whales of Puget Sound, working with the Whale Museum, Friday Harbor, WA.

In the early 90s I led several test teams through successful software application development projects at Microsoft. While I retired from Microsoft in 1998 to continue pursuing my passion for dolphin communication research, my expertise in developing and testing processes remains a foundational skill enabling me to develop and direct the creation of a two-way acoustic protocol for talking with dolphins. After my time at Microsoft, I was the first research coordinator at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys (2000), working on marine mammal research.

My education includes three master’s degrees: in marine behavioral ecology, from Florida State University, (1977); computer science, from Western Washington University, (1988), and in experimental cognitive psychology, from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in 2010. At USM I designed a project to assess a dolphin’s acoustic discrimination and cognitive abilities, working with two adult dolphins at Dolphin Encounters in Nassau, Bahamas. Though highly trained to follow human directions, the 30-year-old dolphins (near the end of an average dolphin’s lifespan) were past their critical period of learning plasticity and failed to learn the new discrimination task. From this I determined that working with young dolphins in the wild may hold the key for establishing a two-way inter-species communication link.

My philosophy: I have faith in the interconnectedness of all life. When we pursue our deeply held beliefs, the energy we create connects us to all living things and can draw us together for the greater good. Learning is a lifelong way of being for me. I value learning and hearing from others – living on earth for the awareness that comes. My own sense of wonder and optimism about the world’s future inspires me to learn how to speak with dolphins. In that process, our perceptions of them will be transformed.  A door into their interior world will open before us. We will gain new perspectives about dolphins by knowing more about their intelligence and their emotions. This expanded view of our relationship with dolphins can improve the quality of life for the whole human family. In turn, the wellbeing of the whole dolphin family can also be enriched when we connect with them in this new awareness. I believe, that there will be an emergence in our lifetime of what we can learn from animals, we are just on the cusp of this now.

People tell me that I’m a good listener, fair, funny, trustworthy, that they feel comfortable with me and want to connect with me. It is these traits that I am certain will enable me to guide our team and engage dolphins and talk with them. Also, as a neighborhood mediation volunteer in my hometown of Bellevue, Washington, I've bridged many disparate perspectives, helping others discover what they value – even in the midst of a conflict. I believe these skills are what are needed to bring together various schools of thought about animal cognition and communication.

I am also truly pragmatic! As we move forward with Acoustic Interactions, we will adapt and grow based on our learning and exchanges from our dolphin engagements. The possibilities are endless given dolphins’ intelligence, playfulness, curiosity, and desire to interact with us.

Please join us in this exciting venture!

Hedi Lyn, PhD, Outside Scientific Consultant

Heidi Lyn is an Associate Professor and Joan M. Sinnott chair of Psychology at the University of South Alabama where she studies non-human animal cognition and communication. She has published extensively on many species including dolphins, dogs, monkeys, and otters and is one of only a few working researchers to have direct experience with language-competent apes. Her research has been published in such journals as Psychological Science, Animal Cognition, and Developmental Science and featured in books as well as Scientific American and Science magazines. She is internationally known, having held positions at UCLA, the New York Aquarium and St. Andrews University and has been interviewed by major newspapers and television programs.

Liz Ferguson, Ocean Science Analytics

LIz Ferguson, Founder and CEO of Ocean Science Analytics (OSA) is currently working on the development of methods for real-time dolphin whistle detection and display. This project, the “Dolphin Whistle Detection and Vocalization Display,” is being led by Dr. Heidi Lyn, University of South Alabama, and Peter Sugarman. It aims to better understand the whistle repertoire of a group of dolphins located at the Ocean Adventures facility in Gulfport, Mississippi. OSA’s role in this project relates to the software components used in detecting and displaying whistles. 

For the “Dolphin Whistle Detection and Vocalization Display” project, Liz is using DeepAcoustics, an open-access MATLAB-based software program designed to develop and deploy deep learning networks for bio-acoustic data. This tool, touting an intuitive graphical user interface, was modified from the tool DeepSqueak, which was originally developed to detect and classify ultrasonic vocalizations from rodents in a low noise, laboratory setting. DeepAcoustics is used to create and evaluate deep neural networks for whistle detection in a variety of underwater environments. The native classification features of DeepAcoustics are used to categorize detected whistles.

Liz is a Marine Ecologist and Educator with 20 years of experience in the education and research communities of San Diego. Throughout much of her career, she has specialized in marine mammal bioacoustic research, with expertise in passive acoustic monitoring, deep learning methods for call detection, and development of analytical software. More recently, she has focused on studying natural and anthropogenic physical-biological impacts on marine megafauna population dynamics using tools such as ArcGIS/QGIS and R. Liz is adept at combining her technical expertise with effective communication of complex topics through outreach and educational materials.

Prior to founding OSA, Liz worked at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries) as a passive and active acoustic technician. In this role, she gained extensive field experience in the Gulf of Mexico, the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and the Pacific Northwest regions. Liz later worked for Bio-Waves Inc., as their Chief Operating Officer (COO), with additional responsibilities in data analytics and project management.    

Liz is a graduate of the University of San Diego with a B.A. in Marine Science, and Point Loma Nazarene University with an M.S. in Biology. Liz also possesses a Specialist Certificate in GIS. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Biology Departments at Miramar College, California State University San Marcos, and the University of San Diego. She also serves as the Executive Director of Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) of San Diego, a non-profit supporting young women in their pursuit of STEM careers.