Santiago is a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institue of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution joint program in biological oceanography. He is interested in the evolution and population ecology of deep-sea invertebrates, the conservation of marine ecosystems, and ocean exploration. In this cruise Santiago will be participating in the sampling of corals and their … Continued
Matt is a Master’s student in Environmental Studies with the College of Charleston, and also a contracted NOAA lab technician in Dr. Peter Etnoyer’s lab. His research has focused on octocoral taxonomy/morphology, but he has also participated in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process, looking at the health and condition of mesophotic coral reefs in … Continued
Leslie is currently completing her Master’s in Marine Biology at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Her current research focuses on the effects of ocean acidification on deep corals in the naturally acidic waters of the Southern California Bight. While on the Falkor, she will assist with water collection and analysis of carbon chemistry in … Continued
Conall is a currently a biology major in his senior year at Temple University. His ongoing research project at Temple involves ocean acidification and the physiological responses of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. This is Conall’s first scientific research cruise and he is excited to gain a lot of experience at sea. On board the … Continued
Originally from Chile, Mauricio is a second year PhD student in Oceanography at Florida State University in Dr. Ian MacDonald’s lab. His research focuses on deep sea chemosynthetic communities, especially those those located in and around cold seeps. He uses photomosaicing techniques, HD video, high resolution bathymetry and geological software such as ARC GIS and … Continued
Jay is a 5th year Ph.D. student in the Biology Department at Temple University. His research focuses on the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. Jay is interested in how OA affects calcification and other physiological processes, and hopes to expand this line of research in his future academic career. … Continued
Erik is a marine ecologist, specializing in deep-sea communities including deep-water corals and natural hydrocarbon seeps. Through his research, he hopes to better understand the impact of human activities in the deep sea. Current research in the Cordes lab includes monitoring of ocean acidification in the deep Gulf of Mexico and its influence on deep-water … Continued
A native Floridian, Andy David has been a NOAA researcher for 22 years at the Panama City Laboratory working on a wide range of topics including: identification of hatchery-reared red drum after their release into the wild, recruitment dynamics of juvenile snapper along Florida’s west coast, and the efficacy of Marine Protected Areas as a … Continued
Mike has worked as an ROV technician for DSSI for 12 years. He works with the sampling systems and basic marine hardware, and his main job is operating the winch. He is deeply interested in the science and wants to make sure the scientists are happy and that they get the results they want.
Originally from Japan, Toshi will be piloting the ROV with Don. Having worked for JAMSTEC previously, he has worked with ROVs for a long time. Toshi will remain with the ROV on the ship for a further 3 months as part of the ROV shakedown phase.
