Elise Hugus

Elise Hugus is a writer, sound designer, and documentary producer. She grew up in the backyard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and from a young age, reveled in the stories she would overhear from scientists returning from sea.

The ocean beckoned Hugus to travel far and wide, first to the communications and journalism program at Concordia University in Montreal, and later to study at the Danish School of Journalism in Aarhus, Denmark. After a stint freelancing as a radio stringer and blogger from Eastern Europe, the ocean called her back home to share her fascination with the blue planet as a community newspaper reporter and multimedia freelancer for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She now works as a video producer with UnderCurrent Productions, a company she co-founded with her husband, Daniel Cojanu.

In her downtime, Hugus enjoys long runs on the beach at sunset, growing her own food, and attending independent film festivals.

Listening to fish with passive acoustics

September 30, 2020

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA Fisheries combine forces to adapt technologies used to detect marine mammals for fisheries management.

Gift enables new investments in ocean technologies

September 28, 2020

A grant from the Coleman and Susan Burke Foundation has allowed WHOI to make crucial investments in remote technology that enhance research innovation at sea. New video monitors aboard the R/V Neil Armstrong will allow scientists and crew to video conference throughout the ship or with colleagues on shore. The Burke Foundation also funded three projects making use of novel data streams from the Ocean Observatories Initiative and field test a wave-powered platform that enables remote communications with autonomous underwater vehicles.

Teaming up for right whales

July 8, 2020

Researchers from WHOI and NOAA combine underwater gliders with passive acoustic detection technology to help protect endangered species from lethal ship strikes and noise from offshore wind construction

Finding medical answers in the ocean

March 19, 2020

The test being used to diagnose the novel coronavirus—and other pandemics like AIDS and SARS—was developed with the help of an enzyme isolated from a microbe found in marine hydrothermal vents as well as freshwater hot springs.

To Tag a Squid

January 3, 2019

How do you design a tag that can attach to a soft-bodied swimming animal and track its movements? Very thoughtfully.

Illuminating the Ocean with Sound

April 26, 2017

WHOI’s new research vessel Niel Armstrong is equipped with an EK80 broadband acoustic echo sounder. Using a wide range of sound frequencies, it gives scientists the ability to identify and distinguish between different types of marine life in the depths.

The Hotspot for Marine Life

April 13, 2017

The continental shelfbreak in the waters off New England is an area where a spectacular abundance and diversity of marine life aggregate year-round. The Pioneer Array, a part of the NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative, was placed there to help scientists explore the processes that make the shelfbreak so productive.

HABCAM

January 13, 2016

A towed underwater vehicle equipped with cameras, sonar, and sensors paints vivid portraits of life on the seafloor.

TurtleCam

October 15, 2015

WHOI scientists create a robotic bloodhound to track and watch sea turtles in their inaccessible realm.

Setting a Watchman for Harmful Algal Blooms

September 9, 2015

As harmful algal blooms are becoming more frequent and severe worldwide, researchers in the lab of WHOI biologist Don Anderson are testing an array of new instruments that can be used in early-warning monitoring systems for coastal waters.

The Jetyak

December 12, 2014

Oceanographers are always looking for cost-effective vehicles to help them explore risky regions. Scientists at WHOI have developed one: a robotic platform called the Jetyak.

From Lab to Sea

November 19, 2014

Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution share their field-tested experience, training graduate students on methods and instruments to collect data in the coastal ocean.