Chawalit “Net” Charoenpong

Chawalit “Net” Charoenpong grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. His fascination with the seas stems from his many summers spent at his grandparents’ house abutting mangrove forests. It was cemented during a physical geography class in Singapore where he learned about plate tectonics and decided that he wanted to pursue geosciences or any sciences that involved being outdoors. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marine science from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, where he worked on the foraging behavior of dugongs. He started research on the marine nitrogen cycle (notably in the oxygen-deficient waters) with Professor Mark Altabet at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he earned his master’s degree before enrolling in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program to continue his research on nitrogen with Dr. Scott Wankel. When he’s not in the lab, he may be raking quahogs, cooking Thai food for friends, or scuba diving in and around Woods Hole or Cape Ann in Massachusetts. His mentor for this article was Heather Goldstone, a National Public Radio science editor (and an MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate).