Sippel, Robert
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Robert Sippel
Librarian | Library
Geospatial & Numeric Data | Liaison to the Department of Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences and Department of Mechanical & Civil Engineering
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. I am the library's liaison to two academic departments--Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences and Mechanical & Civil Engineering--providing instructional and research assistance to faculty members and students. The Evans Library is part of the Federal Depository Library System, in association with which I manage the government documents in our collection. In addition to my library-related responsibilities, I am a member of Florida Tech's University Sustainability Council.
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.
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.