Hi Everyone!
Me again! As my journey with NOAA 2012 comes to a close I decided to expand my list of women who work on, in, and with the biology, chemistry, physics and geology of our H2O world. I hope these women will be both an inspiration to you (as they are to me) as you search for the right career for you as well as a source of information on just how many avenues there are for women in aquatic sciences. This list merely scratches the surface!
I will be introducing new women to you on each blog, so stay tuned!!
Marci Cole
Job Title:
Coastal Ecologist
Save The Bay
Narragansett Bay
What She does:
I oversee our salt marsh monitoring program for restoration projects. Recently I’ve designed and implemented a state-wide salt marsh assessment to see how Rhode Island’s salt marshes are faring with respect to rapid sea level rise. The attached photo is of me monitoring changes in surface elevation at Gooseneck Cove salt marsh in Newport, Rhode Island, one of our restoration sites.
Favorite Aspect of job:
Field work! I love being out in the salt marsh, especially in the fall. The colors are beautiful. I also am lucky to work with a number of great people from different organizations around the state.
What type of schooling/experience do you think best set you up for this job:
I have a Ph. D. in Coastal Ecology, which certainly helps, but I think a lot of knowledge can also be gained through experience. Internships are fantastic ways to find out if a topic is of interest to you. The kind of field work I do is not for everyone, and I think it’s great to find out if you like it before you invest years in education.
Beth Basinski
PADI Staff Instructor/manager
Job Title:
PADI Staff Instructor, Manager
Cane Bay Dive Shop
St. Croix, USVI
What She Does:
I am currently a PADI Staff Instructor, USCG 100ton Master Captain and Manager at Cane Bay Dive Shop, a very prominent 5 Star IDC Facility in the US Virgin Islands. Aside from running a staff of 11 PADI instructors on a day to day, I instruct all levels of dive training through Open Water Scuba Instructor. Having just completed my PADI Tec 45 Sidemount Course, I hope to continue my training to become a Tec Sidemount Instructor, allowing students and myself to enjoy the depths of which most divers never get to see.
In my free time, I also makes an effort to help educate the small island of St. Croix about the need for marine conservation and sustainable resources. I spend time working with kids throughout the island to open their minds and help them appreciate and protect the amazing natural resources of the Caribbean.
Favorite Aspect of Her Job:
It’s truly a toss-up between using my education in marine science to help educate divers and non-divers alike about the need for marine conservation and the joy that I get when one of my students sees the underwater world for the first time. Either way, I try to implement a sense of responsibility and respect for the marine environment and being able to do that either in the classroom or in the water with SCUBA students is very rewarding.
What type of schooling/experience do you think best set you up for this job:
I had always known that I wanted to study Marine Biology in University, but I was never quite sure exactly where it would take me. Having spent an amazing 4 years earning my BSc in Marine Biology at Roger Williams University, I was introduced to a plethora of options. I also had a strong affinity for conservation and volunteering, which led me to travel the world and expand my global education. After working with a non-profit marine science program in Mexico, spending time in Belize and Costa Rica and working for the Department of Marine Fisheries in Massachusetts, I found that what I really wanted to do was help others see WHY all the work that scientists and researchers do is important. I attribute my ability to “do what I want” to my education in marine biology and being able to couple that with SCUBA. I’m not one who is much for spending time in a lab or collecting data (been there tried that) but I would love to help inspire others, adults and kids alike, to use SCUBA as a means to further their potential in the marine science world!
Megg Reynolds
Job Title:
Marine biology technician
Northeast Fisheries Science Center
NOAA Fisheries Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
What She does:
Processes age structures (scales and otoliths) from different species of fish for the age and growth lab in Woods Hole, MA
Favorite Aspect of job:
I love that I am able to go out to sea! Participating in the at-sea surveys is a great way to learn how to sample fish and it gets you away from the office for a little while. I also love that I am working in the field that I have wanted to work in since the age of 15.
What type of schooling/experience do you think best set you up for this job:
When I was in high school, I volunteered at the New England Aquarium in Boston. That experience set the groundwork for my love of marine biology. In college, I majored in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Biology. I also completed a field course studying tropical marine ecology on the east coast of Australia. All of these experiences showed me that with a lot of hard work I could get to where I wanted to be.
Kascia White
Job Title:
Student, Saint Mary’s University Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
Bermuda Intern at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS)
What she does:
I participate in coral reproduction and recruitment experiments that seek to pinpoint the effect of Ocean Acidification on two predominant coral species in Bermuda, Porites asteroids and Favia fragum. I collect the adult corals by scuba diving the reef system; house the coral in the wet lab during spawning and collect coral larvae as the adults spawn. A 2-4 week experiment is conducted using the coral larvae using various CO2 levels as well and temperature and feeding constraints. The data is collected and later processed after the experiment at both the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences as well as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
Favorite aspect of job:
My favorite aspect of the job is definitely SCUBA diving. In order to attain the coral recruits, the adult corals are collected from various reef systems along the Bermuda platform. They are returned to the reefs after they have commenced spawning and their larvae have been collected for experimental purposes. The diving experience I have gained while Interning at BIOS for the past five years is incredible. The amazing reef systems surrounding Bermuda are beaming with biodiversity and getting to view and explore these natural wonders for scientific purposes makes it that much more extraordinary.
What type of schooling/experience do you think best set you up for this job:
If there is anything that I have learned it is that experience is key! I became interested in science at a young age and realized that the only way to assure that this is the career I want to pursue is to get involved in whatever aspect of science I can. I am currently obtaining a Bachelors of Science with honors in Biology degree and a minor in psychology (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax NS). Even if you know your ambitions it is easier to start with a general undergraduate degree and specialize at the graduate level so that there is more room for change.
Lica Krug
Job Title:
research assistant
2013 PhD student in Marine, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Algarve, Portugal.
What She does:
I am an oceanographer with a MSc in remote sensing. With my current research, I use time series of satellite data to study the relation of phytoplankton variability with changes on the environment off southwest Iberian Peninsula. Satellite oceanography is a pretty broad field. I have already worked with estimation of bathymetry in estuaries, prediction of coral bleaching, mapping ecosystem sensitivity to oil spill and ocean/atmosphere CO2 exchange calculations.
Favorite Aspect of job
:
I am a little bit of a geek. I enjoy computer programming and we use it a lot for satellite data processing, but it is not easy, at least for me. I love the feeling when I finish a script that can process 15 years of daily images with a single command. I feel vert smart!
And, of course, there is the validation data cruises. We have to make sure the satellite is giving us correct data, so we have to go out in the field and collect some samples. Summer cruises are great, but I’m not a big fan of the winter ones…my stomach doesn’t appreciate at all!
What type of schooling/experience do you think best set you up for this job:
You have to have some knowledge on ocean processes and spectral behavior of ocean, atmosphere and their constituents. Also, geoprocessing (GIS analysis) and programming basic skills.
Thanks for reading! Thats it for today! Check in soon for 5 new ladies sharing their stories.
