Hello! I am an oceanographic engineer. At work, I pilot and troubleshoot autonomous underwater vehicles, model sound propagation, and analyze/present the data from our models and robots. Communicating our science is just as important as the analysis.
When not working, I enjoy playing cards and board games with friends, going on hikes with my wife and dog, and visiting family.
Following my undergraduate studies at Rutgers, I bounced around:
- Worked as a Marine Science Instructor and Program Coordinator at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) off the coast of California. We were responsible for teaching 2nd-12th graders on field trips and at summer camp, classes ranging from sharks and algae to remotely-operated-vehicles and surfing. Those that know me know that I have an awful lot of energy and used to have even more; this came in handy on those days when I was expected to run 3 snorkels per day, with one of those coming after dinner in the dark!
- I returned to Palmer Station Antarctica for my second deployment, studying phytoplankton and oxygen production along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. We piloted small craft around the region to collect water samples and measure physical properties of the water column. After collection we incubated, irradiated, and filtered the water to to estimate how much oxygen was being created at different depths.
- I worked as an educator with Christodora, spending some months in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts with NYC students on field trips, then in NYC for the winter joining those students in their classrooms. I developed a marine science curriculum focusing on physical and behavioral adaptations in coastal environments.