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About MAI

MAI is a scientific and engineering company providing a diverse set of government, corporate and international clients with a broad spectrum of consulting and engineering services. Our areas of expertise include a full range of environmental compliance services, undersea warfare design, test and evaluation services, marine environmental compliance, sea test planning and support, all supported by an award-winning and internationally recognized research and development program.

MAI’s approach to developing solutions to our client’s needs is based on a high level of staff expertise and experience in the marine environment and defense-related programs. MAI has been at the forefront of the development of technology and support services for the emerging needs of global environmental issues for both government and industry, with senior staff leading many of the latest technological and research initiatives, including authorship of benchmark publications.

Technical staff members hold advanced degrees in all aspects of engineering, biology and environmental science, and serve on numerous national and international advisory committees. Our research and development programs have made MAI a leader in the receipt of contract awards under both the SBIR and STTR programs. We are also a leader in modeling of the marine environment. Our expertise is further leveraged by long-established teaming relationships with a number of the world’s leading universities and research laboratories, including Cornell Lab of Ornithology, APL Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, and University of California Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara.

MAI is a 100% employee-owned small business with regional offices in Middletown, RI, Arlington, VA, and Gales Ferry, CT.

Leadership

Dr. William Ellison, Ph.D.

Founder / Chief Scientist

As Founder of Marine Acoustics, Inc., Dr. Ellison has established MAI as a principal contributor in a wide range of engineering and scientific efforts. He has over 60 years of experience in all aspects of ocean acoustics from Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) systems test, design and operation to authoring benchmark publications on the impact of anthropogenic activities on marine wildlife. He is recognized as a leading expert in theoretical modeling of acoustic processes. He is the author of over three hundred papers, books and major technical reports on underwater sound and acoustic technology. He is an elected Fellow of the Acoustical Society as well as a Fellow of the Explorers Club based on his many years of scientific research in the high Arctic.

Tom Stewart

President / CEO

Mr. Stewart has a 40+ year background in naval systems development, test and evaluation, operations research, and naval operations. As a submarine officer, he served on both SSBNs and SSNs. He was key a figure in making combat system spiral development mainstream and directed testing for numerous major system development programs. He provides expertise to PEO IWS for surface sonar and submarine combat system testing, advises PMS420 on the testing of the LCS ASW Mission Package and supports PMS450 in the testing of Virginia Class Submarine improvements. He supports the SSBN Security Technology and SSN/SSGN Survivability Programs in coordinating at-sea testing activities.

Patricia Gomes

CFO / Director of Human Resources

Ms. Gomes was promoted to the CFO position in 2013. Ms. Gomes has been with the Company since 1990 and has extensive experience in government financial accounting and compliance. She has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2006, is responsible for all MAI financial activities and oversees all Human Resource Management functions of the Company. Ms. Gomes’s financial duties include accounting system design and deployment, policy and procedure development and implementation, indirect rate structure development, forward pricing proposals, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit interface, and incurred cost submission development and defense.

Kenneth Graf

Director of Contracts

Mr. Graf has been with MAI since 2002, arriving shortly after earning his MBA from the University of Rhode Island, and has been a company Officer since 2011. He is responsible for the contractual oversight of the Company; including working with Program Managers and government sponsors to plan upcoming fiscal year funding requirements, contract negotiation, tracking of government funding, and internal budget management for ongoing projects. He ensures consistency between accounting and project budgets, issues and manages all subcontracts, and oversees the contractual closeout process.

Steve Psaras

VP / Director of Virginia Operations

Mr. Psaras has nearly 20 years of technical experience, leadership and subject matter expertise in Anti-Submarine and Under-Sea Warfare within the Navy Submarine, Integrated Under Sea Surveillance (IUSS) and larger Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (TASW) communities. With two accredited technical master’s degrees and proficiency with advanced sonar signal processing and sensor development, Mr. Psaras has demonstrated experience as a Program Manager, Senior Engineer, and Test Director. He has conducted a variety of systems assessments and has performed as an at-sea test director. In addition, he has personally developed Concept of Operations (CONOPs) for various ASW systems. Mr. Psaras is the head of MAI’s satellite office and support facility in Arlington, VA.

Cheryl Schroeder

Director of Environmental Programs

Ms. Schroeder has worked for MAI since 2007 and was promoted to Director of Environmental Programs in 2020. She has more than 40 years of multidisciplinary scientific experience in oceanography, marine biology, marine mammal ecology/biology, aquatic monitoring/analysis, marine education, technical writing/editing, micropaleontology, and bacteriology. Her work experience has been in the government, academic, and private sectors. She has managed marine science teams of up to 13 individuals, directing their technical tasking and monitoring and evaluating their work performance. Ms. Schroeder oversees all marine environmental projects as well as develops proposals and new environmental business opportunities. Her extensive experience in program and project management includes the management of at least 50 federal projects for such clients as the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, DARPA, NMFS, and MMS. Her expertise includes extensive knowledge of federal marine environmental and policy legislation and regulations that she has used to prepare environmental compliance documentation and permit applications pursuant to NEPA, Executive Order 12114, MMPA, ESA, CZMA, CAA, and MSFCA. She trains Navy and civilian visual observers in at-sea monitoring of protected species and has conducted at-sea visual and passive acoustic monitoring on naval sea tests and experiments and wind-farm construction activities.

Our Clients

Government
  • Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
  • Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC Atlantic/Pacific)
  • Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC – Newport)
  • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
  • Office of Naval Research (ONR)
  • Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Industry
  • Joint Industry Program of Oil and Gas Producers (JIP OGP)
  • Tetra Tech, Inc.
  • Systems Engineering Associates Corporation (SEA CORP)
  • Mikel, Inc.
  • HDR, Inc.
  • Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
  • Cardno TEC
  • CSA Ocean Sciences, Inc.
  • Raytheon BBN Technologies
  • STR, Inc.
  • McLaughlin Research Corp. (MRC)
Academia
  • Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL)
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
  • University of Rhode Island (URI)
  • Applied Research Laboratories, University of Texas (ARL: UT)

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