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Michael Carlowicz

Sustainable Ocean
'Green' Energy Powers Undersea Glider

‘Green’ Energy Powers Undersea Glider

Researchers have successfully flown the first thermal glider through the ocean—a robotic vehicle that can…
Ocean Tech
The Spiral Secret to Mammal Hearing

The Spiral Secret to Mammal Hearing

The spiral secrets of mammals? hearing abilities Whispering galleries are curious features of circular buildings.…
How the Ocean Works
Deeply Submerged Volcanoes Blow Their Tops

Deeply Submerged Volcanoes Blow Their Tops

A research team led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has uncovered evidence of explosive…
Ocean & Human Lives
Researchers Successfully Forecast 2008 Red Tide

Researchers Successfully Forecast 2008 Red Tide

A research team led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) successfully predicted the…
Ocean & Human Lives
Cytobot Gives Early Red Tide Warning

Cytobot Gives Early Red Tide Warning

An automated underwater microscope developed by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) detected an…
How the Ocean Works
Crack! A Lake Atop Greenland Disappears

Crack! A Lake Atop Greenland Disappears

In late July 2006, a 2.2-square-mile lake atop the Greenland Ice Sheet sprung a leak.…
How the Ocean Works
The Oceans Feel Impacts from Acid Rain

The Oceans Feel Impacts from Acid Rain

The release of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere by power plants and agricultural activities…
How the Ocean Works
Will the Ocean Circulation Be Unbroken?

Will the Ocean Circulation Be Unbroken?

If the world’s climate is going to change, we will see signs in the ocean.…
Climate & Weather
Morss Colloquia Focus on Science and Society

Morss Colloquia Focus on Science and Society

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution launched a new program, hosting three “Morss Colloquia” since October 2006.…
How the Ocean Works
WHOI Scientists Testify to Congress

WHOI Scientists Testify to Congress

Marine geochemist Scott Doney and marine policy specialist Porter Hoagland traveled to the nation’s capital…
Ocean Tech
Phone Call Links Inner and Outer Space

Phone Call Links Inner and Outer Space

Tim Shank and Sunita Williams placed one of the most unusual long-distance phone calls of…
Ocean & Human Lives
Scientists Unearth Long Record of Past Hurricanes

Scientists Unearth Long Record of Past Hurricanes

Reaching down into the muck below a lagoon off Puerto Rico, two geologists at Woods…
Sustainable Ocean
New Regulations Proposed for Offshore Fish Farms

New Regulations Proposed for Offshore Fish Farms

Newly proposed legislation to regulate large-scale fish farming in the oceans around the United States…
Ocean Life
WHOI Scientists Provide Congressional Testimony

WHOI Scientists Provide Congressional Testimony

Susan Humphris, chair of the Geology and Geophysics Department, testified May 4, 2006,  before the…
Ocean Life
On the Trail of Microbes that Cause Seafood Poisoning...

On the Trail of Microbes that Cause Seafood Poisoning…

Ocean Tech
Scientists Gear Up to Launch Ocean Observing Networks

Scientists Gear Up to Launch Ocean Observing Networks

Oceanography is on the verge of a revolution. Scientists and engineers have been dreaming up…
Ocean Tech
A Laser Light in the Ocean Depths

A Laser Light in the Ocean Depths

Graduate student Anna Michel is adapting laser technology to the murky fluid environment and crushing…

Building a Computer Model to Forecast Red Tides

The algae Alexandrium fundyense are notorious for producing a toxin that accumulates in shellfish such…
Sustainable Ocean
Do Fishing Regulations Lead to More Accidents?

Do Fishing Regulations Lead to More Accidents?

Fishermen have argued that regulations about when and where they can catch fish have caused…
How the Ocean Works
The Oceans Have Their Own Weather Systems

The Oceans Have Their Own Weather Systems

From June to September 2005, oceanographer Dennis McGillicuddy and a team of more than 20…
Ocean Tech
The Hunt for 18° Water

The Hunt for 18° Water

In 1959, oceanographer Valentine Worthington gave a name and an identity to a long-observed but…
Ocean Life
Caught in the Middle of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

Caught in the Middle of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

In the past few years, several research projects have been halted because of conflicting interpretations…
Climate & Weather
Analyzing Ancient Sediments at Warp Speed

Analyzing Ancient Sediments at Warp Speed

Like a toy out of a science fiction story, the X-ray fluorescence core scanner reveals…
Ocean Tech
Going Wireless in the Deep Blue

Going Wireless in the Deep Blue

How do you get long-term ocean measurements from any spot on the globe, with day…
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Simon Thorrold, Ocean Ecologist

Simon Thorrold

Simon Thorrold is an ocean ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He uses techniques that span isotope geochemistry, next generation DNA sequencing, and satellite tagging to study the ecology of a wide variety of ocean species. He recently discovered that blue sharks use warm water ocean tunnels, or eddies, to dive to the ocean twilight zone, where they forage in nutrient-rich waters hundreds of meters down. Born in New Zealand, Simon received his B.S. from the University of Auckland, and Ph.D. from James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia. With much of his work in the South Pacific and Caribbean, Simon has been on many cruises, logging 1,000 hours of scuba diving and 800 hours in tropical environs. He has been a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution since 2001.

Gregory Skomal, Shark Biologist

Greg Skomel

Dr. Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, and author. He has been a fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since 1987 and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. He is also adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology and an adjunct scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He holds a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. from Boston University. For more than 30 years, Greg has been actively involved in the study of life history, ecology, and physiology of sharks. His shark research has spanned the globe from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific. Much of his current research centers on the use of acoustic telemetry and satellite-based tagging technology to study the ecology and behavior of sharks. Greg has been an avid SCUBA diver and underwater photographer since 1978. He has written dozens of scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, and numerous television networks. His most recent book, The Shark Handbook, is a must buy for all shark enthusiasts. He is a Boston Sea Rover and a member of The Explorers Club; his home and laboratory are on the south coast of Massachusetts.

Robert Ballard, Ocean Explorer

Robert Ballard, Ocean Explorer

Robert D. Ballard is Founder and President of the Ocean Exploration Trust; Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration and Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. He is an Explorer-At-Large at the National Geographic Society, Commissioner for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and a Research Scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years and continues to work with the Office of Naval Research. A pioneer in the development of deep-sea submersibles and remotely operated vehicle systems, he has taken part in more than 155 deep-sea expeditions. In 1985, he discovered the RMS Titanic, and has succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown, and John F. Kennedy’s boat, PT-109. He has also discovered hydrothermal vents and “black smokers” in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979. The author of numerous books, scientific papers, and articles, he has been featured in several National Geographic television programs, including “Secrets of the Titanic” a five-part mini-series, “Alien Deep with Bob Ballard.” and, in 2019, “Expedition Amelia.”  He was a special advisor to Steve Spielberg on the futuristic television show seaQuest DSV.  His honors include 22 Honorary Doctorates, National Geographic’s highest award, the Hubbard Medal, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014.

Timothy Shank, Deep-Sea Biologist

Tim Shank, Deep-Sea Biologist

Timothy Shank is a deep-sea biologist, Associate Scientist in the Biology Department, and former Director of the Ocean Exploration Institute at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is known for his research on the ecology and evolution of fauna in deep-ocean hydrothermal, seamount, canyon and deep trench systems. He has conducted more than 60 scientific expeditions in the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Tim has completed more than 50 dives in the human operated submersible Alvin, and more than 100 dives with autonomous underwater and remotely-operated vehicles, including the first use of a hybrid ROV (Nereus) in the ocean’s deepest trenches. He is the author of the award-winning, best-selling book “Discovering the Deep.”

Sunita Williams, NASA Astronaut

NASA Astronaut Sunita L. Williams

Sunita L. Williams (Suni) was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two space missions Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33. She is currently training for the first post-certification mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft – the second crewed flight for that vehicle – and her third long duration mission aboard the International Space Station. Williams and her crewmates are working closely with Boeing to develop their new spacecraft systems, which will provide roundtrip crew transportation services to the International Space Station and, along with SpaceX’s CrewDragon, return the ability to launch humans into space from United States soil.

Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser, WHOI Biologist

Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser, WHOI Biologist

Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser is an Assistant Scientist in the Biology Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her research explores how the larvae of seafloor invertebrates such as anemones and sea stars disperse to isolated, island-like habitats, how larvae settle and colonize new sites, and how their communities change over time. Kirstin is currently Principal Investigator for an interdisciplinary project on shipwrecks in Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary, including the steamship Portland, often termed “New England’s Titanic.” This project uses cutting-edge technology to construct 3D photogrammetric models of the Portland and other wrecks for archaeological and biological research and resource management. Kirstin also has ongoing projects in the Arctic and on coral reefs in Palau. Her work frequently takes her underwater using remotely operated vehicles and SCUBA and carries her to the far corners of the world.