Windows to the Deep 2021: Southeast U.S. ROV and Mapping

Allen Collins

Science Co-Lead (Biology), NOAA Fisheries National Systematics Laboratory and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

With an undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics (Amherst College), Allen Collins began studying biology in earnest after a five-year career in economic consulting. A night course on the history of earth broadened his horizons and set him on a path toward pursuit of a doctorate studying the early evolution of animals. After receiving his doctorate from the University of California Berkeley, he held a few postdoctoral positions before joining NOAA as a research zoologist and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as a curator in late 2004. An expert on jellyfish and other relatively simple animals, he has published about 130 collaborative papers, focusing on evolution and systematics. He supports museum-based marine science by hosting interns, mentoring students, participating in outreach, and providing tours of collections to as many individuals as possible. Allen has worked with samples collected by NOAA Ocean Exploration in the past, describing two species new to science based on these collections. This is his first opportunity to sail on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

Stephanie Farrington

Science Co-Lead (Biology), Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University

Stephanie Farrington is a biological research specialist at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University (HBOI-FAU). She has a bachelor’s degree in marine science and biology from the University of Tampa and a master’s in marine biology from what is now Nova Southeastern University’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography (NSU-HCAS). While at NSU-HCAS, she studied the biogeography of the Straits of Florida to complete a comprehensive study of the deep-sea animals of the region. At HBOI-FAU, she manages and analyzes deep-sea data using her self-created Microsoft Access database. Stephanie has participated in more than 25 expeditions using remotely operated vehicles and human-occupied vehicles. She has almost 18 years of experience identifying and studying deep-sea and mesophotic invertebrates in the western Atlantic, Straits of Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and Cuba. Stephanie sailed with NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in 2012, assisting with nighttime multibeam mapping, and as the biology science lead during 2014’s Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico 2014 expedition and the 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-Sea Exploration. She has co-authored over 94 reports, publications, presentations, posters, and marine protected area and habitat area of particular concern creations or extensions for the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico fishery management councils.

Matt Dornback

Expedition Coordinator, NOAA Ocean Exploration

Matt Dornback has worked for NOAA since 2011, applying his background in marine science and data science on projects related to deep-sea coral, harmful algal blooms, and oceanography. Matt sailed on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as a sample data manager in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and as expedition coordinator in training for the 2021 ROV Technology Demonstration. He is always interested in adapting new technologies to aid in ocean exploration and is currently working on projects for cloud-based annotation of the biology and geology seen during dives and to harness artificial intelligence for work at sea. He holds a master’s degree in biological oceanography from the University of Southern Mississippi and a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Derek Sowers

Mapping Lead, NOAA Ocean Exploration

Derek Sowers has worked as an expedition coordinator and mapping lead for NOAA Ocean Exploration for the past eight years. He completed a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of New Hampshire, a master’s in marine resource management from Oregon State University, and a doctorate in oceanography from the University of New Hampshire. He has 16 years of previous experience working for NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve network and the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program in both Oregon and New Hampshire. Derek has participated in oceanographic expeditions spanning remote areas of the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. When not at sea, Derek works at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Sam Candio

Mapping Lead, NOAA Ocean Exploration

Sam Candio is a physical scientist with NOAA Ocean Exploration. 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 archiving. Sam received a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW), with minors in environmental science and oceanography, and an associate degree in marine technology from Cape Fear Community College. 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 NOAA Ocean Exploration, Sam spent four years aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather, serving as the chief hydrographic survey technician leading coastal bathymetric surveys in areas ranging from the Alaskan Arctic to California’s Channel Islands.

Fernando Aragon

Software/Data Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Fernando Aragon graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. During his studies, he had experience in several fields including conceptual design, aerospace research, mechanical design, robotics and software development. From these activities he was able to intern for NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, present research at a national conference, and even co-author a technical paper in the Journal of the Astronautical Sciences. His most recent position was at the Field Robotics Laboratory (FRL), where he helped support operations, testing, and software development for two unmanned surface vehicles. From his time in FRL, he discovered a true passion for development and design of robotic systems. Originally from Colombia, Fernando enjoys outdoor activities and currently resides in State College, Pennsylvania.

Caitlin Bailey

Video Producer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Caitlin Bailey became a member of the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration video team and started sailing aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in 2016. She is a “bi-polar” explorer, having been to both the Arctic and Antarctica, as well as a National Geographic Explorer. Caitlin is passionate about wildlife and sharing the deep sea and polar regions with a wide variety of audiences. She has a Master of Fine Arts in science and natural history filmmaking from Montana State University and a Bachelor of Science in animal biology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. When not at sea, Caitlin resides in San Antonio, Texas, where she enjoys SCUBA diving, hiking, and entertaining her labradoodle, Camie.

Roland Brian

Electronic Systems Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Roland Brian brings 29 years of experience and a keen eye for precision high-definition video to the program as a video/satellite and telepresence engineer. Roland began his career in the U.S. Air Force where he worked as a satellite communications engineering technician with visions of working on the U.S. Space Station. He traded in that quest for one of deep-ocean exploration and sharing beautiful imagery with the world. He has worked with NOAA Ocean Exploration since 2009 and has been engaged in every telepresence-enabled remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition. He has also provided services for other projects using NOAA Ocean Exploration’s mobile telepresence system, including the 2012 Ring of Fire Expedition. His duties aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer include operation and maintenance of the ship's telepresence and video systems, including on ROVs Deep Discoverer and Seirios. Again, Roland’s experience embodies the breadth and depth of knowledge NOAA Ocean Exploration encourages. When not fine-tuning the video and telepresence systems or training and mentoring new team members, he's actively involved in the editing process of our ever-expanding ocean exploration video library. While not at sea, Roland enjoys life with his wife and family in sunny Sarasota, Florida.

Treyson Gillespie

Mapping Watch Lead

Treyson (Trey) Gillespie is from Charleston, South Carolina, and has always found intrigue and peace from the ocean and its coastal processes. That awe and a curiosity for nature led him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in geology and environmental geosciences from the College of Charleston, where he graduated in 2019. During his undergraduate career, he participated in an assortment of internships and field opportunities both domestic and international, including different mapping operations aboard various NOAA ships, where he gained invaluable knowledge and experience with a wide selection of sonar and vessel configurations. Trey is currently pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science and sustainability studies from the College of Charleston.

Art Howard

Photographer and Producer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

For more than 30 years, Emmy-award winning photographer and producer Art Howard has helped viewers experience life through images from 50 countries and 7 continents. A native of North Carolina, Art has followed researchers aboard multiple deep-sea missions, documenting the excitement and challenges of exploration. Art uses the latest video technology to bring viewers as close as possible to life at sea, capturing both scientists and the marine life they seek to understand. Art has spent the last 11 years independently producing media for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Sean Kennison

Mechanical Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Sean Kennison first joined the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration in 2014 while earning his undergraduate degree at the Pennsylvania State University. He sailed on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as part of the engineering team and assisted with various design projects throughout his senior year. Upon graduating at the top of his class with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in engineering mechanics, he joined the team full time. Sean regularly maintains the vehicles and continually works on improvements to keep them up-to-date with technological advances. He has gained invaluable experience and knowledge through the seasons, onshore and offshore, that has turned him into a versatile engineer. Initially starting as a passionate navigator, Sean has grown to become a skilled pilot and is a proven lead for the remotely operated vehicle expedition team.

Jeff Laning

Electrical Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Jeff Laning holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Vermont. He started his career as an intern with Greensea Systems, Inc., where he worked on the design, development, and integration of components and software associated with remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicle systems. Jeff came to the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration with a desire to learn new and complex electrical systems. He was a key member of the team that built remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer and has become a skilled pilot, co-pilot, and navigator. Jeff currently resides in Vermont.

Jim Meyers

Systems Administrator, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Jim Meyers attended Williams College and received a bachelor’s degree in history. He has worked in the information technology field for over 20 years, including 19 years at various positions at Sea Research Foundation 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.

Lars Murphy

Ocean/Mechanical Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Lars Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Rhode Island. Growing up on the coast of Maine, he developed a constant pull toward the unknown, the unexplored, and chaotic environments and acquired a drive to bring meaning, understanding, and order to these areas. Lars has a professional background working with autonomous underwater vehicles and other subsea robotics systems both internationally and nationally and now supports remotely operated vehicles Deep Discoverer and Seirios as an ocean/mechanical engineer.

Emily Narrow

Video Producer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Emily Narrow is a video producer and editor whose work focuses on science and nature. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College where she double-majored in biology and cinema studies. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in science and natural history filmmaking from Montana State University. She was a video producer for a production company in Washington, D.C., for three years, where she made public service announcements, ad campaigns, and promotional videos for nonprofit and environmental organizations. Since 2011, she has been a freelance video producer, creating videos for clients such as the National Park Service, NOAA, Montana State University, Zero Point Zero Productions, and VisionHawk Films. Most recently, she edited three web videos about the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration’s 2019 remotely operated vehicle expedition to Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Emily currently resides in Bozeman, Montana.

Andrew O'Brien

Software/Data and Satellite Engineer — Remotely Operated Vehicle Pilot/Co-Pilot, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Andrew (Andy) O’Brien started his professional career in the U.S. Navy, where he ran a small electronic test system calibration laboratory and instructed NATO students in satellite ground station repair. Following the Navy, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in computer science from the University of Vermont before joining Greensea Systems as the lead software engineer. During his tenure at Greensea, Andy designed, developed, and supported over 40 widely varying custom robot control systems and their operator interfaces for government and industry. Notably, Andy was the software lead on NOAA Ocean Explorations remotely operated vehicles Deep Discoverer and Seirios. Andy so enjoyed working with NOAA Ocean Exploration, and supporting their exploration mission, that he asked to join them. Andy now splits his time between developing software, managing science and engineering data, maintaining the satellite communications system, and navigating, piloting, and co-piloting the deep-submergence vehicles. During his free time, you can often find him in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Chris Ritter

Remotely Operated Vehicle Team Lead, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Chris Ritter first joined the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) on the Cayman Rise Expedition in 2011, just prior to being hired full time by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). For the next three years, an informal NAVSEA-NOAA relationship allowed Chris to continue to participate in GFOE’s design, engineering, and offshore operations. Chris holds bachelor’s degrees in ocean engineering and aerospace engineering with a minor in mathematics from Virginia Tech. Chris has been a major contributor to GFOE’s design-build process and a tremendous asset to their offshore operations. He is a skilled navigator, pilot, and co-pilot and brings with him a level of enthusiasm that everyone around him appreciates and respects. In late 2014, Chris joined GFOE’s Mechanical Engineering team full time. He is enthusiastic about training the next generation and tackling new projects. Chris resides in Falls Church, Virginia.

Levi Unema

Electrical Engineer, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

Levi Unema is an Eagle Scout from Lynden, Washington. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering along with a Certificate in Electric Power Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Levi joined the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) in 2016 and designs, builds, operates, and maintains GFOE’s remotely operated vehicles. Since joining the team, he has acquired many technical skills in the satellite communication field, in addition to the broadcast video field. Levi sails on most remotely operated vehicle expeditions on Okeanos Explorer, satisfying the roles of electrical engineer, navigator, pilot, co-pilot, and sometimes VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) engineer. Levi resides in Newport, Rhode Island.

Megan Cromwell

Oceanographer, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Megan Cromwell is an oceanographer with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). She serves as the NCEI team lead for NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer end-to-end data management activities. Megan has been with NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Data Management Team at NCEI since her start as a student intern in 2016. She completed her Bachelor of Science in oceanography with a certification in geographical information systems from the University of Southern Mississippi and is currently working towards a master’s degree in environmental geoscience. Megan has been a competitive sailor since her childhood, which initiated her love for the ocean.

Matt Grossi

Sample Data Manager, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Matt Grossi is a physical oceanographer whose interest in the motion of the ocean began in middle school with throwing oranges into the Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts to measure surface current velocity. Over the course of his career, citrus fruits were eventually replaced with GPS-tracked surface drifters, autonomous underwater robots, and other geeky technologies that collectively define both the present and future of observational oceanography. He has degrees in oceanography from the Florida Institute of Technology (bachelor’s), University of Delaware (master’s), and University of Miami (doctorate). Matt is now a data coordinator for NOAA’s uncrewed systems program responsible for documenting and preserving data obtained by many kinds of ocean robots such as NOAA Ocean Exploration’s remotely operated vehicles. He also uses data analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to support oceanographic and climate product development at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Jonathan Jackson

Sample Data Manager, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Jonathan Jackson chose a career that reflects his love of the outdoors, especially fishing. He earned a Bachelor of Science in wildlife and fisheries sciences from Mississippi State University and a Master of Science in fisheries and aquaculture from Auburn University. Jonathan was then hired as a biologist with a private consultant in Mobile, Alabama, participating in operations including upland stream surveys and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys of salt domes surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2013, his career took him to NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s Mississippi lab where he worked on a Deepwater Horizon National Resource Damage Assessment ichthyoplankton project and participated in NOAA Fisheries sampling expeditions. Jonathan transferred to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information in 2015. He is the technical manager for the Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System and participates in efforts to archive harmful algae and other environmental data. During expeditions, Jonathan manages the data collected from samples collected by the ROV and works with the science leads during the specimen preservation process.

Anna Lienesch

Sample Data Manager, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Anna Lienesch is a data manager with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) through the University of Maryland’s Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies. She earned a Bachelor of Science in marine science with a minor in anthropology from Eckerd College in 2016 and has been with NCEI and NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Data Management Team since early 2018. Anna serves as the team lead for NOAA Ocean Exploration’s competitive grant program’s end-to-end data management activities and is the NCEI liaison to various NOAA divisions and line offices. Anna is also a champion crocheter and is responsible for the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer’s squid mascot, Oscar, hanging in the dry lab.

Madalyn Newman

Sample Data Manager, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Madalyn Newman is joining the expedition team for the third time as the sample data manager of biological and geological samples collected during the dives of remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer. She is a Mississippi Gulf Coast native who graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) with a bachelor’s degree in marine science and received her master’s degree in environmental geosciences from Mississippi State University (MSU). She began her career as a plankton taxonomist with USM and NOAA Fisheries, working primarily with Deepwater Horizon oil spill samples. Currently, she is working as a data archivist and outreach specialist for the Northern Gulf Institute at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi under a NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information-MSU cooperation.