Naming every expedition participant in a telepresence-enabled mission is next to impossible! Many from dozens of institutions across the country have provided input into the expedition plan and are expected to participate. However, we've assembled information about the members of the team who are physically onboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
And of course, none of this exploration would be possible without the work of the dedicated NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and civilians who operate NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as part of NOAA's fleet managed by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation.
Physical Scientist, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Sam Candio is a Physical Scientist with the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). He splits his time between conducting field operations aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as an expedition coordinator/mapping lead and conducting shoreside responsibilities at the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center, including mission planning, data quality control, and data archival.
Sam received his B.S. in marine biology from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW), with minors in environmental science and oceanography. Following graduation, he worked as an instructor for UNCW's MarineQuest, leading a suite of marine science experiential learning programs ranging from the generation of biodiesel from algae to the operation of side-scan sonars and remotely operated vehicles. Prior to signing on with OER, Sam spent four years aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather, serving as the Chief Hydrographic Survey Technician leading coastal bathymetric surveys ranging from the Alaskan Arctic to the Channel Islands in California.
Physical Scientist, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Adrienne Copeland is a Physical Scientist and the Funding Opportunity Program Manager with OER and oversees the office’s biological acoustic priorities. She specializes in the use of active and passive acoustic collection methods to understand pelagic predator-prey dynamics. Adrienne received her B.S. in Biology and Certificate in Mathematical Biology from Washington State University and her Ph.D. in Zoology with Marine Biology specialization from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her undergraduate and graduate research varied from single-celled parasite genetics to mammalian behavior, but all of her diverse research projects employed mathematical tools to understand biological principles. Adrienne has designed and directed several at-sea research projects and has served as chief scientist on six expeditions. For this expedition, she will lead the calibration of the scientific echosounders which are one of the tools we use to explore the water column, the largest (by volume) unexplored biome on the planet.
Network Systems Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration
Mark holds a B.S. in information technology and a Masters in Computer Information Systems from Tarleton State University, where he focused on network security solutions. Mark has over 28 years experience in designing, testing, and supporting numerous variations of voice/data wired/wireless telecommunications networking solutions and security solutions, services, and products. During his career at MCI/Verizon, he held several engineering, research and development, and management positions and was with the company a combined total of over 23 years. During this time, he worked on key network projects and initiatives, including federal security solutions, access solutions, security services, virtualization, and many other large network solutions. In addition, he received four patents for networking and security solutions. Mark is married to his wife of 32 years, Laura, and has three kids and five grandkids. Some of Mark's hobbies and interests include car, truck, and boat repair/restoration; hiking, biking; running; camping; hunting; fishing; boating; amateur radio; storm chasing; home automation/security systems; fitness instructing; and scuba diving.
Ocean Mapper and GIS Analyst
Erin Heffron is an ocean mapper and GIS analyst who works with several organizations to acquire, process, and create products from ocean data, most often water column, seafloor, and substrate information acquired by split-beam, multibeam, and sub-bottom echosounders. She is also a graduate student studying ocean mapping applications related to the earth sciences at the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center, where she is nearing the completion of her master's degree.
Expedition Coordinator/Mapping Lead, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Shannon Hoy is a Mapping Lead with OER. She has always had a love of the ocean and pursued a degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston, where she was first introduced to seafloor mapping in 2009. During her undergraduate career, she participated with four seafloor mapping expeditions, allowing her to increase her seafloor mapping knowledge and skills, make valuable connections, and travel to exotic places such as Indonesia and Antarctica. Two of these expeditions were actually aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in 2010! After completing her undergraduate degree, Shannon spent the next few years gaining as much multidisciplinary ocean experience as possible. She worked for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Submarine Geohazards Group in Woods Hole, as well as the University of Bristol’s Paleoceanography group in the United Kingdom. She continued to map throughout these years, and began specializing in habitat mapping using high-resolution techniques (such as remotely operated vehicle mounted multibeam), seamlessly combining her three disciplines: marine biology, geology, and seafloor mapping. In 2015, Shannon began pursuing her Master’s degree in Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, with the aim to increase her theoretical acoustic and geodetic background. Towards the end of her graduate degree, she jumped at the opportunity to join the OER team as a Mapping Lead, as being a NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research Explorer-in-Training nearly a decade earlier had greatly shaped her career and allowed her to pursue her passion for ocean exploration.
Research Scientist, Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping / Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire
Kevin Jerram is a research scientist with the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping / Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). His first experience aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer was an expedition to acoustically characterize methane seeps in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, forming the basis for his M.S. thesis in ocean engineering at UNH. Since then, Kevin has supported nearly 50 mapping missions throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans aboard a wide variety of vessels.
He was initially drawn to ocean mapping because it blends engineering with exploration. On NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Kevin enjoys producing high-resolution bathymetric products in support of U.S. mapping priorities and up-to-date maps for use by the remotely operated vehicle team and scientists during their dives in previously unexplored areas. He also works with the National Science Foundation-funded Multibeam Advisory Committee to evaluate system performance within the U.S. academic research fleet and develops publicly available Python apps to assess multibeam data quality.
When back on land, Kevin can be found hiking with his partner and fixing up their good old house on Penobscot Bay in Maine.
Video Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration
Bob has almost 50 years of experience in broadcast engineering. Following a 37-year career with RIPBS, departing in 2006 as Chief Engineer, he worked for the Sea Research Foundation and Ocean Exploration Trust as the Senior Broadcast Engineer. He was responsible for the design, commissioning, and maintenance of the Inner Space Center located at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. He also worked on many research vessels and supported telepresence operations from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Exploration Vessel Nautilus, Research Vessel (R/V) Endeavor, and R/V Atlantis, plus many other University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) ships.
Bob is married and has six adult children, nine grandchildren, and a great-grandson. He and his wife Donna play French horn and are active in many community music ensembles in Rhode Island.
Mechanical Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration
Andy Lister graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in ocean engineering. He went on to study at Embry-Riddle, focusing on artificial intelligence systems and obtaining a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. After school, he worked in the oilfield before starting his own business in 2014. He has currently joined the team as a mechanical engineer with additional interests in the data management side. He enjoys coding, electronics, and working onboard the Okeanos Explorer to bring the public to unexplored places across the globe.
Systems Administrator, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration
Jim Meyers attended Williams College and received a B.A. in history. He has worked in the information technology field for over 20 years, including 19 years at various positions at Sea Research Foundation, Inc. in Mystic, Connecticut. He is married with two adult children. Outside of work, he is an avid soccer fan and plans European vacations around match schedules.
Knauss Sea Grant Fellow, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Lu completed her B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Oregon State University. Her undergraduate research topics covered rangeland ecology and plant biology, including a study on the effects of various watering methods on the microbial communities of agricultural plants. This interest in plant-microbe interactions led to her graduate work on the influence of environmental perturbations on the seagrass microbiome. Studying seagrass ecosystems and sediment biogeochemical cycling led to an appreciation of coasts and oceans, leading to her current position as a Knauss fellow with OER. Lu is excited to learn more about ocean exploration and mapping. This will be Lu's first trip out to sea, and her first time seeing the Atlantic Ocean!
Systems Administrator, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration
Chris Wright holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Mary Washington and an M.B.A from Rollins College. After graduation, he worked as a network and systems administrator and engineer in the hospitality industry in the Northeast and Mountain West for more than 15 years. Recently relocating back to the East Coast, Chris joined the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration data team in early 2019 as one of the newest members of the organization. In 2019, he completed his first cruise aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and is extremely excited about continuing the journey to explore the oceans around the world. When he isn't sailing on Okeanos Explorer, he’s busy working in GFOE’s Quonset office planning, designing and implementing data solutions to help refine and mature its base of operations for ocean exploration. Chris and his family currently reside in Newport, Rhode Island.
