Ocean Exploration and Imaging Technologist, WHOI

Dwight F. Coleman, Ph.D., is a marine research specialist and technologist specializing in deep-sea exploration, seafloor mapping, ROV operations, marine geology and geophysics, and telepresence-enabled science. He serves as Director of Ocean Imaging at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, following more than a decade leading the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island, where he advanced real-time, ship-to-shore ocean exploration and global scientific collaboration. With over 35 years of experience and more than 70 research expeditions—including work on major shipwreck and archaeological investigations such as RMS Titanic, PT-109, and Black Sea wrecks—he has played a central role in integrating robotics, geophysical systems, and communications technologies to expand access to the deep ocean for both scientists and the public.