Colin Wilson

Colin is a ROPOS Navigator with Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd.  Colin will be providing navigation and information technology support. A Professional Engineering Candidate, he has developed and used advanced numerical analysis software for ocean engineering applications.  Some of these applications include subsea robotics, tidal/wave energy converters, subsea turbines, aquaculture, sensor models, control systems, and others. … Continued

Keith Tamburri

Keith is the Assistant General Manager for the ROPOS team with Highland Technologies/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility.  During the cruise, he will be acting as an operations supervisor, deck commander for ROV operations, pilot, and electrical technician.  He is primarily responsible for assisting with the management of the ROPOS ROV, and overseeing design and fabrication of … Continued

Kim Wallace

Kim is an Electrical Engineering Technologist with devOcean Technology Ltd.  As part of the ROPOS team, Kim will provide technical support for the configuration, operation, and maintenance of the ROPOS vehicle, focusing on electrical and electronic systems.  As with most of the ROV crew, Kim is also trained as a pilot and as an operator … Continued

Lisa Zeigler Allen

Dr. Lisa Zeigler Allen is an Assistant Professor in the Microbial and Environmental Genomics Department at the J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla California. Her research focuses on understanding microbial and viral interactions through large-scale meta- genomic and -transcriptomic, single cell/virion genomic and cultivation based approaches. Her work at Axial will involve the genomic characterization … Continued

Steven Bucklew

Steven (Steve) is a ROPOS ROV Technician with Sierra Offshore Services.  A part of the ROPOS team since 2003, Steve has acted as a pilot, LARS crane operator, and robotic manipulator operator and technician. He will be fulfilling all three of these roles during the cruise. Steve brings extensive experience with ROVs and mechanical systems … Continued

Lucy Stewart

Lucy has a B.A. in History (2009) and a B.Sc.(Hons) in Microbiology (2010) from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her Honours thesis focused on comparing the ecophysiology of rock-living bacteria and fungi from the Antarctic Dry Valleys to similar species from the foothills of the Southern Alps in New Zealand. Between her … Continued

Giora Proskurowski

Giora graduated from Amherst College with a chemistry major, but was lured to the earth sciences by the prospects of using chemistry to study deep-sea hydrothermal vents. He got his masters and Ph.D. from the University of Washington in chemical oceanography, studying the connections between biology, geology, and chemistry at deep-sea hot vents. Beginning in … Continued

Kevin Roe

Kevin is with the University of Washington/Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans and is now on his 72nd research cruise over the last 35 years.  He will be analyzing vent fluids for sulfide, ammonium, and silica onboard, and then later determining trace elements back at the lab.  He was aboard the … Continued

Caroline Fortunato

Dr. Caroline Fortunato is a microbial ecologist and postdoctoral scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. Her research focuses on the phylogenetic and functional diversity of microbial communities from gradient-driven ecosystems, including coastal oceans and the deep sea. Caroline received her Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental … Continued

Josh Chernov

Josh is the morning shift supervisor for this cruise.  A contractor with the ROPOS team since 2011, Josh has filled the roles of navigator, ROV pilot, and shift supervisor.  With over 10 years of experience with a variety of ROV operations, Josh has piloted 5 different inspection class and 4 different work class ROV systems. … Continued