TITLE: Graduate Student in Environmental Studies
ACADEMIC INSTITUTION: University of Colorado at Boulder,
Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research

 

What is your role in Extreme 2008? 
I will process water samples for chemical analyses.

What questions are you trying to answer and why?
It's pretty typical for chemical analyses to be performed on water samples since the chemical composition of the water is going to greatly influence the types of organisms you find.

Why is this research important? What are the benefits?
I think it's important because we understand very little about microbial life in the oceans, and that is especially true about these deep-sea vent systems. Uncovering the secrets behind how these organisms make a living expands our understanding of what is capable of life on Earth, and possibly elsewhere in the universe.

What's your background, and what lured you into marine science/education? 
I grew up by the ocean and have always been inspired and awestruck by its vastness. The more I learned about the oceans, the more I wondered about what lives there and how ocean ecosystems function.

I participated in Sea Semester, where I learned a bit about how to sail and do ocean research. I now study freshwater ecosystems for my graduate research but haven't lost my intense fascination with oceans and how they function on an ecological level.