Sippel, Robert
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Robert Sippel
Librarian | Library
Geospatial & Numeric Data | Liaison to the Department of Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences
Contact Information
Personal Overview
I have been a librarian at Florida Tech's Evans Library since 2013.
Prior to earning my graduate degree in Library & Information Science and becoming a librarian, I earned a dual undergraduate degree in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, as well as a dual graduate business degree (MBA/MS Transportation & Logistics).
Before pursuing librarianship, I worked for consulting firms focused on the areas of naval ship design, industrial engineering, and environmental engineering. During my time at Florida Tech, I have specialized in topics relating to the analysis and visualization of data resources, using such tools as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), R and RStudio, and Python.
Educational Background
B.S. Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, Webb Institute, 1985
MBA, University of Maryland, 1995
M.S. Transportation & Logistics, University of Maryland, 1996
Master of Library & Information Science, Rutgers University, 2013
Professional Experience
Prior to coming to Florida Tech, employed as:
- Research Librarian at NewFields LLC, an Environmental Engineering consulting firm.
- Project Engineer at St. Onge Company, a consulting firm specializing in supply chain analyses and the optimization of operations in manufacturing, distribution and other types of facilities.
- Graduate Assistant for the Logistics, Business & Public Policy department of the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.
- Naval Architect for Band, Lavis & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in the design of high-performance marine vehicles.
Current Courses
Key responsibilities include:
- management of government resources in the collection of the Evans Library.
- developing and promoting access to data resources pertinent to the research and studies of faculty and students.
- implementing and providing instruction in the use of technologies for the visualization/interpretation of large data sets.
- supporting the operation of the library's Scholarship Repository to provide permanent, open access to journal articles, research reports, conference papers, data sets, theses and dissertations, as well as other scholarly works created by FIT’s faculty and students.
- in association with faculty research efforts, providing guidance in the development of data management plans.
Selected Publications
LAVIS, D.R. and R.S. SIPPEL. The Design and Comparison of High-Performance Marine Craft, A Rational Approach to Selection. MARIN Jubilee Conference, Wageningen, The Netherlands, May 1992.
“Growth in Thai Auto Sector Brings Logistics Challenges”, May/June 2008, Supply Chain Asia
Delivered presentation "Integration of Library into Research Data Management at Florida Institute of Technology" at the 2014 Science Boot Camp Southeast conference.
Research
Research & Project Interests
Promoting the use of data and information visualization techniques and applications for the interpretation of large data sets.