Third Thursdays at CEIE | Dialogue
REON Technology:
Smaller, Faster, Cheaper
James S. Bonner, Ph.D., P.E.

Smaller, Cheaper, Faster
Dr. Bonner, a nationally recognized expert in real-time water monitoring technologies and oil spill remediation, leads the development and implementation of Beacon Institute's River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON), a partnership between Beacon Institute, Clarkson University and IBM to create the first technology-based monitoring and forecasting network for rivers and estuaries.

Bonner's talk, REON Technology: Smaller, Faster, Cheaper, expands upon his very popular presentation at CEIE last year at the height of the Gulf oil crisis. He and his REON research team have developed exciting new methods of monitoring the Hudson (and rivers worldwide) in real time. Bonner will unveil data from the research team's mobile monitoring tours of the Hudson, discuss the movement of sediment particles in the river near Fort Edward and offer a glimpse into new sensor technologies currently in development.

“Sensors are all around us, from the ice-maker in the fridge, to the instruments we are developing to detect micro-organisms in our water,” remarks Dr. Bonner, referring to his work with REON. "Ninety-eight percent of the changes in the environment happen only two percent of the time. Real-time sampling allows us to observe these changes in the environment as they happen, and that is transforming our understanding of environmental science. We're part of that revolution."

Bonner holds a joint appointment with Beacon Institute and at Clarkson University as a professor of civil and environmental engineering and Shipley Fellow. He earned his M.S. in civil engineering and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from Clarkson University, and a B.A. in biology from SUNY Plattsburgh.