Person: Léo-Paul Pelletier

Originally from Brest, France, Léo-Paul has been an engineer at WHOI since 2011 after graduating with a Masters in Electronics Engineering from ENIB (Ecole Nationale d’Ingenieurs de Brest). He has since been working on WHOI’s Optical Modem series of instruments, enabling fast Ethernet connectivity underwater anywhere between 10Gbps at contact, to 10Mbps at 100m as … Continued

Log Post: Launching Adaptive Robotics

Hello, my name is Blair and I am chief scientist on board the R/V Falkor for our expedition “Adaptive Robotics.” Today is day two, and all systems are go! What we are trying to achieve on this expedition is to build multiresolution maps of the seafloor, where the resolution of the maps gets higher and … Continued

Log Post: Works of Art

It has been a short, sweet, inspiring expedition for this scientist. I have never sailed with six artists in my 25+ years as an oceanographer. As a seafloor mapping specialist, I have always valued the beauty of seafloor data, and now water column data as well. As this expedition comes to a close, I have … Continued

Person: Adam Swanson

My paintings offer short stories intended to compel the viewer to consider an unfamiliar place. I use humans, animals and scientific equipment to stress the human connection with the natural world. My current interest in painting gained fresh energy when I was in Antarctica working for the National Science Foundation. I traveled to Antarctica on … Continued

Person: Jessica Pruitt

Jessica Pruitt is a first year Marine Biology Master’s student at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. She is studying Eastern Pacific deep habitats and biogeography in Dr. Greg Rouse’s lab. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA in 2016, with a major in Oceanography and a minor in Marine Biology. Before … Continued

Person: Jeffrey Marlow

Jeffrey Marlow is a Geobiologist at Harvard University, where he studies deep-ocean microbiology and the inner workings of methane-metabolizing microorganisms. His previous research has exposed seafloor rocks as key habitats in methane-based ecosystems and used a range of culture-independent tools to observe microbial communities as they exist in nature. Jeff has conducted field work at … Continued

Log Post: Portholes To My Thoughts

I grew up surrounded by water. The past two years I have been living in the desert and needless to say I have been craving water. The sound, the smell, the feel, and of course the visuals. The start of this journey with Schmidt Ocean Institute has been nothing short of perfection. I always think … Continued

Log Post: Painting the Ghostfish

I have been painting a mural in the passageway that leads to the aft deck on Falkor. My subject is the Ghostfish, a small and rather unassuming organism that was discovered during one of Falkor’s expeditions to the Mariana trench. In the course of an exploration of the trench floor, this strange beast wandered in … Continued

Person: Jillian Petersen

Jillian Petersen’s main research focus is beneficial interactions between marine invertebrate animals and the symbiotic bacteria they can’t live without. On this expedition, she will be collecting Lucinoma bivalves for molecular and physiological experiments to better understand its remarkable ability to survive and remain active with very little oxygen. As human impacts transform our oceans, … Continued

Person: Haleigh Yang

Haleigh is entering  her fourth year as an undergraduate Environmental Systems student at UC San Diego with a focus in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. Her main interests involve environmental education and outreach as well as gaining more exposure in marine science research. During her time at UCSD, she was a volunteer in Stuart Sandin’s lab … Continued