Byron Jara Bautista

Byron Jara Bautista is a hydrographer and nautical cartographer with more than ten years of experience in hydrographic surveying, seabed mapping, nautical chart production, marine geospatial analysis, and maritime safety. He holds a B.Sc. in Naval Science from the Ecuadorian Naval Academy and FIG/IHO/ICA Category B qualifications in Hydrography from Ecuador’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute of the Navy (INOCAR) and in Nautical Cartography and Data Assessment from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO).

Byron completed the FIG/IHO/ICA Category A Graduate Certificate in Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire as a Nippon Foundation/GEBCO scholar and is now pursuing an M.S. in Ocean Engineering: Ocean Mapping at UNH. His research at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM/JHC) focuses on nautical cartography, with an interest in advancing the integration of modern hydrographic data, geospatial technologies, and emerging standards into chart production and maritime decision-making.

Before joining UNH, Byron served in several hydrographic, cartographic, and maritime leadership roles in Ecuador. His experience includes leading offshore, coastal, inland-waterway, and Antarctic hydrographic operations; producing and validating Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs); supporting studies related to Ecuador’s outer continental shelf; and conducting maritime configuration and navigation studies for ports. As Chief Scientific Officer for the XVII Ecuadorian Antarctic Expedition, he led the geodesy team responsible for updating coastal information on Greenwich Island for nautical charting. He has also taught astronomical navigation, electronic navigation, maritime interests, hydrography, oceanography, and meteorology at the Ecuadorian Naval Academy.

Byron is a recipient of both the IHO–Nippon Foundation Scholarship in nautical cartography and the GEBCO–Nippon Foundation Scholarship in ocean mapping.

Outside of his professional and academic work, Byron enjoys sailing, fencing, traveling, and exploring new places with his family.