Real Life Scientists
They’d made a career choice that had nothing to do with money and everything to do with the fact that they’d never lost the child’s sense of amazement about nature. It was as though the “career goal” entry on their resumes read: “To stay as far away from an office cubicle as humanly possible.” - Susan Casey
Working alongside scientists for the past decade, I have come to recognize the value of capturing not just the intricate details of experiments and data collection, but the people behind them — their motivations, imperfections, and charisma. They are marine biologists, oceanographers, geophysicists, and engineers. But they are also students, teachers, husbands, wives, and parents. They are young people trying to find their calling in life. They are leaders working to inspire a new generation. They are artists, comedians, musicians, introverts, and adventurers. They are real people.
A group of biologists, geologists, and marine technicians gather on the glacier behind Palmer Station, Antarctica | February 2018
Bruce Strickrott smiles as Chief Scientist Adam Soule signs the final pre-dive check sheet for the first science dive since HOV Alvin received its 6,500 meter certification | July 2022
The maritime archeology team prepares to collect data from a shipwreck off the coast of Maui | October 2022
Jason Raupp enters the water ready for a full day of field work on the seafloor, just off the coast of Maui | October 2022
Diana Dumit, a graduate student in the Babbin Lab at MIT, works in the wet lab aboard R/V Falkor | July 2018
Bryan Reatini, a PhD student at UNC-Chapel Hill, surveys guava plants in the highlands of San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands | July 2017
Karen Romano Young smiles from inside the sphere of HOV Alvin | August 2022
Colleen Bove collects massive starlet coral near Placencia, Belize | December 2017
Steve Auscavitch and Taylorann Smith process samples in the Wet Lab aboard E/V Nautilus | October 2020
Jess Sandoval unscrews a collection bottle from ROV Hercules on the aft deck of E/V Nautilus | September 2019
Maria Costas pilots a drone from the storage deck of R/V Falkor | May 2018
Dave Cade prepares to deploy a suction-cup radio tag on a humpback whale in Andvord Bay, Antarctica | February 2018
Keila Lima runs an algorithm as her team deploys an AUV from the aft deck of R/V Falkor | June 2018
Kate Gould clambers out of the water after an hour of collecting and tagging corals near Key Largo, Florida | February 2019
To learn more about the field work and expeditions I have documented, check out my blog.