Person: Chuck Fisher

Dr. Chuck Fisher is a deep-sea ecologist whose research interests cover the physiology and ecology of animals harboring chemoautotrophic symbionts, such as cold seep tube worms and deep-sea corals. He has worked extensively with submersible and robotic vehicles as he studied these communities in their extreme environments. Dr. Fisher serves as one of the principal … Continued

Person: Catriona Munro

Catriona is a research assistant in Dr. Timothy Shank’s lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. For the past year she has been involved with the lab’s ongoing efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, helping to genetically identify coral associates, as well as carrying out image analysis. On board, she will be in charge of coordinating … Continued

Person: Janessy Frometa

Janessy received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Florida in 2010. Since that time, she has been working as a research technician in Dr. Amanda Demopoulos’s Benthic Ecology lab at the U.S. Geological Survey. Her research interests include the biodiversity and community structures of benthic invertebrate communties. While at sea, Janessy will oversee … Continued

Person: Enrique Salgado

Enrique is a NOAA Biologist specializing in coral aquaria, and will be collecting live deep sea coral specimens, such as Lophelia pertusa, and transporting them back to Dr. Peter Etnoyer’s lab in Charleston, SC. He will be working in a refrigerated lab equipped with cold seawater tanks, where the corals will reside. Chemical and physical … Continued

Person: Matt Rittinghouse

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

Person: Santiago Herrera

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

Person: Leslie Wickes

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

Person: Conall McNicholl

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

Person: Mauricio Guillermo Silva-Aguilera

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

Person: Jay Lunden

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