Hinobu Okano
Danielle Parker
Kevin Penn
Jeff Pollack
Matt Richards
George P. Schmahl
Aurélie Shapiro
Tom Shirley
Rachel Teasdale
Paul Walczak
Naomi Ward
Jon Warrenchuk
Nicolás Alvarado
Amy R. Baco-Taylor
Jason Chaytor
Carey DeLauder
Peter Etnoyer
Tyler Fox
Denise Giles
Jennifer Jones
Randy Keller
Edward Kelliher
Catalina Martinez
Dave Miller
Nicolás G. Alvarado Quiroz, PhD 
Oceanographer
Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Sea Grant Fellow
NOAA Science Advisory Board/Office of Ocean Exploration
Ocean Explorer Data Manager -- 2004 Gulf of Alaska
Nicolás Alvarado received a BS in chemistry and an MS in Earth sciences from the University of Ottawa. He received a PhD in chemical oceanography from Texas A & M University, where he studied the Gulf of Mexico microbes. While working on his doctorate, he became an American Academy of Underwater Sciences scientific diver, a dive master, and a cavern diver. He subsequently volunteered with Texas Parks & Wildlife as a scientific diver in the Gulf of Mexico. This year, Nicolás was awarded a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Sea Grant Fellowship, and he is serving on NOAA’s Science Advisory Board. He is also providing assistance to the Office of Ocean Exploration, and serving as data manager for this cruise.
Amy R. Baco-Taylor, PhD 
Visiting Investigator
Biology Department
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Principal Investigator -- 2004 Gulf of Alaska
Amy Baco-Taylor received a BS in marine biology and a BS in molecular biology from Florida Institute of Technology. She then moved to the University of Hawaii, where she completed her PhD in oceanography, studying the succession and phylogenetics of invertebrates associated with deep-sea whale skeletons. Amy is now a visiting investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where her research focuses on seamount invertebrates with an emphasis on deep-sea corals. Her general research interests are the ecology and evolution of benthic marine organisms. She has participated in 30 research cruises and completed 39 dives in research submersibles, including the Pisces IV, Pisces V, Alvin, Johnson-Sea Link, and the Turtle. She has also used a number of remotely operated vehicles, including the Jason II, ATV, Scorpio, RCV-150, and the Tiburon.
Jason Chaytor 
Graduate Student
Oregon State University
Carey DeLauder 
Teacher
Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program
Providence, RI
Educator at Sea -- 2004 Gulf of Alaska
Peter Etnoyer 
Marine Ecologist
Aquanautix Consulting
Principal Investigator -- 2004 Gulf of Alaska
Sponsored by Marine Conservation Biology Institute 
Peter Etoyner is a marine ecologist with a background in biogeography, octocoral systematics, and physical oceanography. He earned an MS from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, where he researched the biogeography of shallow-water scleractinian corals in the Philippines and the Caribbean. Since then, he has been investigating deep-sea coral communities in the northeast Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. He also studies pelagic habitat for whales, marlin, and swordfish, coupling satellite remote sensing data with fisheries landings and animal tracks. The results were recently published in Oceanography and Science. Obtain reprints of those investigations and learn more about Aquanautix Consulting .
Jennifer Jones 
Research Assistant
Jennifer Jones recently graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, receiving her BA in biology, with an environmental science minor. Her studies focused on marine biology and oceanography. She is currently working as an environmental scientist at Whitehead & Mueller, Inc., an environmental and engineering consulting service, in Austin, TX. Within the next few years, she plans to attend graduate school to continue her study of marine biology.
Randy Keller 
Professor
Department of Oceanography
Oregon State University
Principal Investigator -- 2004 Gulf of Alaska
Randy Keller studies the chemical composition and timing of volcano eruptions (past and present) to try to understand how volcanoes are created and why they occur where they do. This requires studying surface processes, such as the size and style of lava flows, as well as using geochemical techniques to study the lava-generation processes that occur deep beneath a volcano. He has been on five expeditions to dive on, sample, and even drill into volcanic seamounts in the north Pacific and Gulf of Alaska. He has also been on numerous expeditions to study volcanoes in Antarctica. He teaches geology and oceanography at Oregon State University.
Edward Kelliher 
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Edward Kelliher is a senior at Bridgewater State College. He plans to receive his BS, with an environmental biology major and a chemistry minor, in the spring of 2005. He recently completed a summer research project on the fluctuating asymmetry of the larval damsel fly, Calopteryx maculata, and he has presented his research at three conferences during the past academic year. He has received the Killam Fellowship and will study for a semester at Acadia University, Nova Scotia, in the fall of 2004. He plans to pursue graduate studies in marine microbiology or biochemistry.
Catalina Martinez 
Expedition Coordinator
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration
Catalina Martinez joined NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration (OE) in 2002 as a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Sea Grant Fellow. She received an MS in oceanography from University of Rhode Island (URI) in 2000; and, in 2002, she received a second master’s degree in Marine Affairs from URI. While in graduate school, she developed and implemented inquiry-based marine environmental programs that included field-based and classroom components, as well as a ship-based oceanography program on board the URI research vessel, Cap'n Bert. Ms. Martinez has worked on fishery and other marine-related issues in various regions of the world’s oceans. Her most recent work with OE took her on research cruises to the Gulf of Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Caribbean.
Dave Miller 
Graduate Student
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Dave Miller is currently pursuing his PhD in marine biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. His research interests are related to the sulfur cycle and using stable isotope tracers to chart marine food webs. Specifically, he is interested in how much the primary production from reducing environments (such as vents, seeps, and anoxic sediments) contributes to the overall carbon flux in surrounding systems. He is also a scuba diver.
Danielle Parker 
Graduate Student
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
For Danielle Parker, this expedition to study seamounts marks the beginning of her graduate program in marine biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She received her BS in 2001 from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT, where she studied zoology, marine biology, and conservation. During her experience at BYU, she participated in a semester at Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey, CA, where she studied the defense mechanisms of the sea snail Megasurcula carpentariana.
Kevin Penn 
Research Associate
The Institute for Genomic Research
Rockville, MD
Kevin Penn received his BS in aquatic biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He then moved to The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), where he currently studies the microbial populations of various environments, including hydrothermal vent communities, deep-sea coral habitats, and soils within wildlife preserves of Kenya. On this expedition, he will collect samples to test the hypothesis that deep-sea octocorals harbor specific types of bacterial communities. Besides being a microbial biologist, Penn also teaches specialty scuba courses, including deep diving, underwater navigation, and dry-suit diving.
Jeff Pollack 
Web Coordinator
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration
Jeff Pollack is the Coastal Training Program (CTP) coordinator for the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Georgetown, SC. As CTP coordinator, he designs science-based training about coastal issues for local leaders. He has an MS in coastal environmental management from Duke University. He has worked in a range of environments, including the coral-reef ecosystems of the Florida Keys and the Caribbean; most of his recent research experience has been in estuarine systems in the Carolinas. During this mission, he will document the research being conducted aboard the R/V Atlantis.
Matt Richards 
Research Assistant
University of Alaska, Southeast
Matt Richards is an undergraduate student at Western Washington University. He is participating in the National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the University of Alaska, Southeast. On this mission, he will assist Dr. Tom Shirley by examining hormone levels in the deep-sea spider crab Macroregonia macrochira.
George P. Schmahl 
Sanctuary Manager
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
George "G. P." Schmahl has been the manager of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary since 1999. Prior to that he served for eight years as the Lower Keys regional manager of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in Key West, Florida. As sanctuary manager, he is involved with a broad array of Marine Protected Area management issues, including research, education, and resource protection. Since obtaining an MS in zoology from the University of Georgia, Schmahl has held a variety of positions relating to marine research, coastal management, resource planning, and environmental regulation. His primary interest is the ecology and management of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, and he has specific interest and expertise in the biology and ecology of marine sponges.
Aurélie Shapiro 
Technical Assistant
Geographical Information Systems
NOAA National Ocean Service
Aurélie Shapiro earned her BS in biology and environmental sciences at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In 2001, she received an MS in environmental management at Duke University’s Nicholas School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Her specialization is in satellite remote sensing and geographical information systems. She has been working with the NOS Special Projects Office for three years, developing techniques for satellite mapping of coral reefs and using digital terrain analysis to study watershed-based threats to marine ecosystems. On this expedition, she will assist in the multibeam mapping and three-dimensional visualizations of the Alaskan seamounts.
Thomas C. Shirley, PhD 
Professor
Invertebrate Biology
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Principal Investigator -- 2004 Gulf of Alaska
Since receiving his PhD in zoology and physiology from Louisiana State University in 1982, Dr. Tom Shirley has been conducting research and teaching graduate courses in marine biology at the Juneau Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He has been the Principle Investigator on 10 manned submersible research projects, has participated in more than 40 research cruises, and has extensive scuba and submersible experience. Dr. Shirley has more than 100 scientific publications, and 19 graduate students have received their degrees with him as their advisor. Dr. Shirley has described new species of invertebrates from three different phyla from around the world, including the Arctic, Antarctic, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean, Philippines, and Alaska. Much of Dr. Shirley’s ongoing research addresses the life history of commercially important crabs of Alaskan waters. Most recently, he has been exploring deep-water crabs, corals, and other invertebrates on previously unexplored seamounts in the Gulf of Alaska.
Rachel Teasdale 
Assistant Professor
California State University, Chico
Rachel Teasdale is a volcanologist who studies the lava flow emplacement processes. Her research focuses on basaltic lava flows and how their compositions and crystals change while the lavas are active. To do this, Teasdale collects lava samples (preferably while they’re still flowing) and analyzes their chemical compositions. She also uses experiments to reproduce the crystallization that occurs as magmas rise through a volcano on the way to the Earth’s surface. Her field sites include volcanoes in the Galápagos Islands, Hawaii, Cameroon, and Northern California. She is interested in the Gulf of Alaska seamounts in terms of the emplacement of submarine lavas and the growth of oceanic volcanoes. She recently joined the faculty at California State University, Chico, where she teaches geology courses.
Paul Walczak 
Graduate Student
Oregon State University
Paul Walczak completed a BS in environmental science at Oregon State University (OSU) in 2003. As an undergraduate, he participated in the Semester at Sea program, sailing and analyzing sediment distributions in the Atlantic Ocean. He also worked for Dr. Martin Fisk in the OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, assisting in his search for microbial association with the mineral olivine. Now a graduate student at OSU, Walczak is researching the relationship between hydrothermal activity at submarine large igneous provinces and ocean anoxic events with Dr. Robert Duncan.
Naomi Ward 
Assistant Investigator
The Institute for Genomic Research
Rockville, MD
Naomi Ward holds a BS in microbiology from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. In 1997, she received her PhD in biological sciences in from the University of Warwick in the UK. Her background is primarily in microbial systematics and taxonomy. After several years spent in postdoctoral studies and teaching at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, she moved to The Institute for Genomic Research in 2001. Her current research includes conducting whole-genome sequencing projects on microbes of ecological and evolutionary interest, as well as characterizing microbial communities (both cultured members and those which have never been cultivated in the lab) using genomic approaches.
Jon Warrenchuk 
Marine Conservation Coordinator
Pacific Region Oceana, Inc.
Jon Warrenchuk is the chief scientist in the Pacific region for Oceana, a non-profit marine conservation group. He is interested in the conservation of sensitive marine habitats, particularly those featuring cold-water corals. Warrnchuk received a BS in ecology from the University of Calgary and an MS in fisheries from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
