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Wildlife Computers, a leading innovator in electronic
tagging technology for marine animal applications, specializes in designing and
manufacturing the best tag design possible for any given type of research project.
To accomplish this, we have assembled a team of engineers who optimize tag electronics
for efficiency in data collection and encoding (to maximize the amount of useful
data returned), and tag geometry (to minimize the impact on the study animal).
 In 1986,
Wildlife Computers began by producing electronic archival tags specifically designed
for use on seals. Our tags now integrate archival, Argos and GPS technology to support
the study of a wide variety of marine animals, including penguins, turtles, cetaceans,
and large fish. In 2007, Wildlife Computers grew to include two facilities, with
offices in both Redmond, Washington, U.S.A., and St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
A primary goal of the company is to provide support for research based on sound
scientific methods and practices, recognizing that “good science” benefits the marine
biology community as a whole. One of our company’s strengths is our success in meeting
the challenges presented in designing tags for the particularly rugged conditions
of marine tagging.
Roger Hill, Melinda Braun and Suzanne Hill are the principal owners of the company.
Roger, President and Chief Engineer of Wildlife Computers, is responsible for the overall
architecture of our tags, integrating the hardware, onboard software, as well as
the PC-based communications and analysis programs. He is known as one of the experts
of light-based geolocation techniques. A man of many talents, Roger might be found
laying out a circuit board, writing code, soldering prototypes, or dreaming up the
next use of leading-edge technology.
Roger received his doctorate in Engineering from Oxford University, England, in
1980. While a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General
Hospital, he began designing and building electronic instruments for his own research.
By 1983 he designed micro-processor-controlled physiological monitoring and blood-sampling
instruments for deployment on Weddell seals. By 1985 he was incorporating Argos
transmitters with his tags. Soon other researchers were requesting he produce tags
for their research. In 1986, Roger and Suzanne established Wildlife Computers.
Melinda is the CEO and Technical Director of Wildlife Computers, overseeing the
operations and the future course of the company. In addition, she is tasked with
understanding current and future researcher requirements while ensuring that the
design of Wildlife Computers tags meets those requirements. She provides advanced
technical support on the suitability and use of our tags to meet researcher objectives,
as well as assisting with the analysis of the resulting data.
Melinda began her studies in molecular biology at the California Institute of Technology
in Pasadena, California. She subsequently attained a degree in Data Processing and
Business Systems from the University of Redlands. From 1975 to 1990, she designed
and wrote a wide variety of computer systems, ranging from corporate business computing
to the collection and organization of satellite data at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California. She joined Wildlife Computers in 1990.
Suzanne received her doctorate in Ecology and Behavioral Biology from the University
of Minnesota in 1987. Although she is not as involved in the day-to-day operations
of the company as she used to be, she serves as a resource on marine mammal behavior
and field research methods.
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