Ocean Exploration Career Profiles
Learn more about a variety of ocean careers available to those interested in work on or in the ocean. Below you will find a wide variety of talented people who explore our ocean planet, ranging from explorers, graduate students, submersible pilots, and vessel crew to NOAA Corps Officers.
Please note that all Ocean Exploration Career content was current at the time that interviews were recorded; however, profiles are not being updated to reflect subsequent career changes.
Career Profiles
All
Academic
Archaeology
Biology
Engineering
Geology
Industry
NOAA & NOAA Corps
Dr. Amanda Kelley
Studies the biological impacts of ocean change.
Richard Conway
Manages ship's electronics equipment that is non-propulsion or engineering department-related.
LCDR Holly Jablonski
Responsible for ship's safety and personnel, management of shipboard operations, and success of ship’s mission.
Dr. Sandra Brooke
Focuses on life histories and physiology of deep corals and characterization of deep-reef ecosystems.
Liz Baird
Educates and shares experiences to build excitement for science and nature.
Dr. Peter Auster
Works to better understand how habitat influences the distribution and abundance of fishes.
Dr. Bob Embley
Works with seafloor maps and images to analyze the processes that create undersea features such as submarine volcanoes.
Dr. Shawn Arellano
Studies the larvae of marine invertebrates with an emphasis on larval behaviors and larval biology of organisms from deep-sea cold seeps and hydrothermal vents.
Dr. Timothy Shank
Investigates processes that shape deep-sea marine communities and their diversity.
Dr. Edith A. Widder
Studies bioluminescence—how and why there are so many creatures in the ocean that make light.
Jennifer McClain-Counts
Uses chemistry to understand food webs in the ocean.
Dr. John K. Reed
Studies deep-sea organisms to discover and develop drugs that can be used to treat human diseases.
Dr. Peter Etnoyer
Collect and identifies deep-sea corals in North American waters to secure protection of those resources.
Dr. Beverly Goodman
Reconstructs past environments to determine whether they were impacted by disasters such as tsunamis and hurricanes.
Dr. Deborah Kelley
Studies how volcanoes support life in the absence of sunlight.
Dr. Kristin Laidre
Studies the ecology of marine mammals, specifically the interactions between whales, seals, and sea otters and their environments.
Chuck Meide
Serves as the Director of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program.
Dr. Roy Cullimore
Studies biological challenges of sunken ships created through the activities of rusticles and other microbial events like corrosion.
Dr. Shirley A. Pomponi
Studies marine plants and animals that produce chemicals that can be developed into drugs to treat human diseases.
Brian Kennedy
Facilitates research and gets to experience all sorts of ocean science discoveries.
Dr. Robert Ballard
Extending our reach and understanding of the underwater world through education and innovative technologies.
Catalina Martinez
Manages ocean exploration projects and expeditions and conducts related outreach.
Dr. Charles Mazel
Pioneering the study of fluorescence as well as the specialized equipment needed to do so.
John McDonough
Provides data and information required for ecosystem management through the exploration of marine and coastal areas.
