2007: Exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea Explorers
Michael AW Director – OceanNEnvironment Australia & Ocean Geographic Society
Expedition Leader – 24-hour shoot in the Maldives expedition
Technical Consultant – Australian Museum and Museum of Tropical Queensland
Michael AW is the founding director of OceanNEnvironment, a charity organization listed with the Registrar of Environment Australia. Since 1985, Michael has worked extensively in the “Coral Triangle” – the Philippines, Indonesia and New Guinea. He has authored several marine natural history books, including the Encyclopedias of Malaysia and Indonesia. He has collaborated with Dr. Carden Wallace in “Acropora – Staghorn Corals,” one of the most definitive books about the staghorn corals of the Indo-Pacific. He also co-authored with Dr Elizabeth Wood in “Reef Fishes, Corals and Invertebrates of South China Sea.” Michael’s series of awareness guides for “Tropical Reef Fishes” and “Tropical Reef Life” are into the third edition. Michael is a three time winner at the World Festival of Underwater Pictures, Antibes.He is also a recipient of two awards from the Natural History Museum BBC Photographer of the Year Wildlife Competition in 2000 and in 2006 he won the Best Winner award in the underwater category.
Over 25,000 of his images have appeared in various publications and exhibitions worldwide, including the Australian Museum and Queensland Tropical Museum. He has produced and directed two 24-hour photographic documentaries of corals reefs on the Australian Great Barrier Reef and in the Maldives in 1995 and 1999 respectively. These extended sojourns have been encapsulated in books and a broadcast video documentary for National Geographic. In 2003 he completed Richest Reefs – Indonesia, a visual extravaganza from some of the most beautiful reefs in the world. This book was adopted by the Indonesian government as an official gift of state and was subsequently commission for a revised limited edition in 2006. A feature documentary of the same title was also produced in 2003. His most recent work, his 25th book of the sea, Beneath North SulaweSea, was released in October 2006 with a worldwide launch in Birmingham, London, Antibes, Orlando, Los Angeles and Singapore. Michael is also the principal author of Essential Guide to Digital Underwater Photography. This title is into its 3rd edition. He has just launched “Ocean Geographic” – the official journal of the Ocean Geographic Society and his latest book – An Advanced Guide to Digital Underwater Photography.
Valeriano Borja
Marine Biologist
Oceanography Section, Marine Fisheries Research Division
National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI)
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Central Office
Mr. Borja specializes on plankton, especially harmful algal blooms and dinoflagellate cysts. He has participated in several international collaborative projects related to marine biodiversity, such as the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project (May to July 2004) and Panglao 2005: Deep Sea Cruise; A Survey of the Deep Water Benthic Fauna of Bohol Sea and Adjacent Waters. In the Panglao Project he joined the diving team for collection of specimens.
Joseph Caba
ROV Pilot/Technician
Deep Sea Systems International
Joe’s upbringing was surrounded by travel, and his father’s keen interest in vintage aircraft restoration. This influenced his decision to attend Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Upon graduation in 1988 he was employed with Lockheed Missiles and Space’s Astronautics division (now Lockheed Martin) for eight years. Subsequently, Joe co-founded a company to provide sub sea Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) support, including construction, salvage, archeological, and scientific surveys covering many areas of the globe such as the Gulf of Mexico, Europe, Asia, and the North Pole.
Nick Caloyianis
National Geographic
Lee Caughron
National Geographic
Lee Caughron is an experienced natural history filmmaker who holds BA in Film/Video Production from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Lee worked for the National Aquarium in Baltimore for sixteen years and served as the Director of Video Productions for 10 of those years. Lee is the producer of many films and is the recipient of several industry awards for his work as a producer. His hands on experience include video editing and camera work on land, underwater, and in the air.
Richard Michael Cole
Staff Engineer
National Geographic Society
Mike has been an electronics and engineering mainstay of the National Geographic's ROV and remote underwater imaging projects since arriving at the Society in 1978. He supplied field support for the first two Geographic cover stories done with ROVS, the Hamilton/Scourge wrecks in Lake Ontario and the Breadalbane in the Canadian Arctic. He was one of the first pilots of the low-cost ROVS built by Chris Nicholson for the Geographic after these successes. He flew these ROVS on Society projects in Bermuda, the Caribbean, Japan, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Marshal Islands, and Russia's Lake Baikal. He rigged deep sea cameras and lights on ALVIN, MIR and PISCES submersibles on multiple deep sea vent stories and video programs. He designed the RopeCam remote-baited-video-camera-systems, which have brought back first-time animal images from up to two miles deep in Antarctica, the eastern, western, and central Pacific. Known as "Marvelous Mike," he always has a solution to any electronics failure in the field, once pulling a power supply out of a boom-box to breathe enough life into a dead ROV to get the necessary pictures.
Cabell Davis
Senior Scientist
WHOI
Cabell Davis is a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is Director of WHOI's Ocean Life Institute. His general research area is plankton ecology with a focus on zooplankton. He did his PhD research in Woods Hole at the Boston University Marine Program where he studied the copepods of Georges Bank, a rich fishing ground east of Cape Cod. He has used a combination of biological-physical modeling, field sampling, and laboratory experiments to determine the underlying mechanisms controlling observed distributions of zooplankton species. He co-developed the Video Plankton Recorder, an underwater video microscope with automatic image identification, and has used it to obtain high-resolution data on fragile plankton. He currently is collaborating with MIT engineers in developing a small underwater digital holographic camera for imaging plankton. He is also modeling the impact of climate change on the fisheries ecosystem on Georges Bank as part of the U.S. Northwest Atlantic Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics program.
Caron De Mars
Environment, Science, and Technology Officer
U.S. Embassy, Manila
Caron De Mars has been in the U.S. diplomatic corps since 2001 and works for the Ocean, Environment, and Science Bureau in the U.S. Department of State. Her assignment in Manila includes work in sustainable fishing, reef protection, and obtaining clearances from the Philippine government for U.S. scientists interested in conducting research in Philippine waters. Caron has a B.S in Braodcasting from the University of Wyoming and an MBA from St. Mary’s University. She is a PADI-certified Rescue Diver and has been diving since 1991.
Adonis S. Floren
Marine Biologist
Silliman University – Angelo King Center for Research and Management (SUAKREM)
Adonis Floren received his Master’s degree in Marine Biology in 1996 from Silliman University, Dumaguete City and has been serving the university as a researcher and as part-time lecturer. His interest in marine biology started in his childhood days, when fishing and farming were the ways of earning a living. After finishing college, he worked for an aquaculture firm that introduced him to the minute world of plankton. Having experienced the decline of the aquaculture industry, brought about by pollution and destruction of coastal habitats, he decided to take graduate studies. Since then he has participated in various assessments of coastal marine resources for the establishment of marine protected areas in the central and southern Philippines. He has also participated in 3 joint oceanographic expeditions in the South China Sea (Joint Oceanographic Marine and Scientific Research Expedition in the South China Sea, or JOMRE) and around the country (PhilEx). He is particularly interested in understanding the spawning and dispersal patterns of fish and invertebrate larvae so that marine protected areas can be better designed with regard to the ideal size, location, and spacing patterns for survival of these larvae.
Noe B. Gapas
Marine Biologist
Curator, Phycology Section
Botany Division
National Museum of the Philippines
Noe has a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences. As a taxonomist of marine plants, such as seaweeds and seagrasses, Noe also studies plankton of the Philippines. Collecting data on plankton in both marine and freshwater goes hand in hand with collecting algae and seagrasses in various parts of the county. He promotes awareness in conservation of marine and freshwater environments, using plankton as the basis for determining water quality. Noe is also a part-time instructor in the Biology Department of Trinity College of Quezon City, teaching Marine Botany and Ecology. At the same time he is a consultant and advisor on undergraduate theses for various colleges and university students.
Peggy Hamner
Staff Research Associate & co-Director, COSEE-West
University of California, Los Angeles
Ms. Hamner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Zoology and a Master of Science degree in Marine Ecology at the University of California, Davis. She and her husband, William Hamner, have been a research team since 1972, with a primary research interest in behavior of marine animals, using SCUBA, research submersibles, and ROVs. Ms. Hamner studies marine animals with her husband and helps to direct the COSEE-West program, funded by the National Science Foundation to provide information about current ocean research to the public, K-12 educators and students. She gives marine science presentations to teachers and students, and helps K-12 educators incorporate ocean sciences into classroom curriculum.
William Hamner
Professor Emeritus
University of California, Los Angeles
William Hamner lived in southern California through his teens, working as a Los Angeles County lifeguard and learning to scuba dive with his father. He decided in high school to be a marine biologist and he received his Bachelor of Arts in Zoology from Yale University and his Ph.D. in Zoology from UCLA. His primary research interest is understanding the role of behavior in the lives of marine animals. He uses SCUBA, research submersibles, and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to conduct in situ studies of undisturbed individual animals in the ocean and to collect undamaged live animals for research in the lab. His research has taken him to Australia, Palau and Antarctica, and his projects have been featured in 4 National Geographic Magazine articles and in the IMAX film, “The Living Sea.” For the past 15 years Dr. Hamner has been funded by the National Science Foundation to direct professional development programs that train K-12 teachers to use marine science as a tool to teach science and other subjects in their classrooms.
Russ Hopcroft
Associate Professor
Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Dr. Russ Hopcroft is an Associate Professor at the University of Alaska's Institute of Marine Science in Fairbanks. He grew up fascinated by aquatic life (and Jacques Cousteau specials), pursuing the sciences during his education. Dr. Hopcroft received his Master’s degree in 1988, and his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The focus of his graduate research was on marine plankton ecology in the tropical waters surrounding Jamaica, West Indies. From 1997 to 1999, Dr, Hopcroft was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). At MBARI he was heavily involved in the use of ROVs, as well as traditional oceanographic surveys, to study the oceans.
Dr. Hopcroft pursues a broad array of research interests, concentrating on the composition, production and energy flow of the "lower" planktonic trophic levels that ultimately shape the structure of all marine communities. Since 2000, most of his research has focused on copepod and euphausiid crustaceans in Alaskan waters. He also specializes on the taxonomy, biology and ecology of larvacean pelagic tunicates, and, most recently, pelagic snails (pteropods and heteropods). He serves on the steering committee of several Census of Marine Life projects: the Arctic Ocean Biodiversity (ArcOD) project, the Census of Antarctic marine Life (CAML), and the global Census of Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ).
Dr. Hopcroft is increasingly recognized for his images of live zooplankton that are widely distributed in the media and on the web. He is an active contributor to ongoing global efforts to molecularly barcode all zooplankton species. Visit his web site, www.sfos.uaf.edu/directory/faculty/hopcroft/
Erich Horgan
Research Associate
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Erich's research interests include the biology of oceanic zooplankton; distribution, morphological adaptation, and ecology of mesopelagic communities; sampling techniques/systems for zooplankton research; laboratory culture of marine invertebrates for research purposes. Erich knows the taxonomy of many zooplankton groups and is also a MOCNESS expert. During the cruise he will coordinate dive and deck operations.
Talina Konotchick
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Graduate Student, Biological Oceanography and Marine Biodiversity & Conservation
Talina Konotchick received her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2004. Talina is interested in the biogeography of marine invertebrates and how historical and ecological processes have shaped those distributions, with a particular emphasis on physical oceanography. In her spare time, she enjoys surfing with friends.
Emory Kristof
Senior Photographer
National Geographic Society
Emory Kristof has been a National Geographic photographer since he started working for the magazine as an intern in 1963. He is a specialist in scientific, high-tech and underwater subjects, including Deep Ocean work beyond normal diver depths. Throughout his career Kristof has been a pioneer in the use of submersibles and remotely operated vehicles. He created the preliminary designs of the electronic camera system for the Argo vehicle, which found the TITANIC. Including the TITANIC, he has documented many historic, deep, or challenging wrecks, among them the EDMUND FITZGERALD, the HAMILTON & SCOURGE, the BREADALBANE, the 16th Century Spanish Galleon, SAN DIEGO, and the interior of the USS ARIZONA.
His innovative photography uncovers the heretofore-unexplored worlds of deep sea animals. He was on the 1977 expedition which discovered the deep hot water volcanic vents of the Galapagos Rift, and has done photography for six stories on the vents and their unusual life forms. He recently teamed with Stephen Low Productions to do the IMAX Film “Volcanoes of the Deep Sea.” He founded the Beebe Project with Teddy Tucker and Dr. Eugenie Clark in Bermuda to bring baited deep water sharks and other animals to submersibles to be filmed and studied. Emory has worked for years with Chris Nicholson of Deep Sea System to design and build the 10,000 foot Max Rover used on this Project.
Nick Loomis
Graduate Student, MIT
3D Optical Systems Group
Nick is a Ph.D. student, studying imaging technologies and algorithms. His current work focuses on digital holographic imaging. In this technique, interference patterns from 2 laser beams are used to record 3-dimensional information about an object onto a digital camera. The resulting 2D hologram can then be processed computationally to numerically reconstruct the original 3D object. Together with collaborators from Woods Hole and MIT, Nick has been applying digital holography to imaging plankton for improved automatic identification, with the end goal of creating an instrument which could be deployed on ocean-going vehicles in the near future. Aside from optics, Nick is also involved with his school's cycling team, riding competitive cyclocross and track.
Laurence Madin
Senior Scientist and acting Director of Research
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Larry Madin is a Senior Scientist and currently the acting Director of Research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, MA. He grew up in northern California and received his AB degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD from UC Davis. His main research interests are in the biology of oceanic and deep-sea zooplankton, particularly medusae, siphonophores, ctenophores and pelagic tunicates. He was among the first biologists to use SCUBA and submersibles to study oceanic plankton in the early 1970’s. Some of his recent research has been on the population dynamics and biogeochemical effects of salp blooms in the Antarctic and elsewhere, distribution of macro-plankton and fishes in the Arabian Sea, biodiversity of oceanic plankton in the Sargasso Sea, and development of new instrumentation for sampling and exploration. Dr. Madin was previously the Chair of the WHOI Biology Department, and Director of the Ocean Life Institute. He has continuing interests in the biodiversity, ecology, evolution and conservation of oceanic animals, and in the impacts of climate on marine ecosystems.
As Chief Scientist of 2007:Exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea, Dr. Madin has been responsible for overall expedition planning. He will oversee activities during the cruise, and coordinate follow-up research on the collected data and samples. After two Antarctic trips, he is definitely looking forward to diving in warm water.
Toshinobu Mikagawa
ROV Pilot/Technician
Oceaneering International
Toshi, a Japanese native, came to Deep Sea Systems with a Master’s Degree in Geophysics and 7 years of ROV piloting already under his belt. He has explored the farthest reaches of the sea, from the Bering Straits to the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean. Whether it is finding the lost WWII submarine USS Grunion in Alaska or being part of the crew that first discovered the “Black Smoker” a type of hydrothermal vent in the Indian Sea, Toshi is happiest when on the ocean “flying” the ROV.
Hildie Maria Nacorda
Research/ Technical Assistant
Marine Science Institute
University of the Philippines
Hildie is a Research and Technical Assistant with the Marine Science Institute-University of the Philippines, working on soft bottom communities for the past 19 years. She graduated in 1996 with an M.Sc. in Marine Science from the same University, concentrating on the benthos of coral reef sediments. She has participated in various baseline and monitoring surveys, which involved sampling the sea floor with grabs, sieving and extracting organisms from sediments, and identifying the fauna into different taxa. Hildie is particularly interested in looking at changes within the polychaete worms, because these are used as indicators of environmental conditions. Hildie recently added seagrasses to her research interest list, joining several coastal resource surveys to identify key areas for conservation, and she shared her skills and experiences during Coastal Resource Management orientations and trainings. She is working on a Ph.D. project that looks at the interactions between burrowing shrimps and seagrasses, and she hopes to defend her thesis early in 2008
Mike Nicholson
ROV Pilot/Technician
Deep Sea Systems International
Mike is Deep Sea Systems’ official monster hunter. He spent 3 years piloting the GlobalExplorer ROV with Dr. Robert Rines searching the Loch Ness in Scotland for signs of "Nessie". Mike has also spent many years at the "School of Reality" while offshore on oil rigs and exploring the Arctic Ocean. More recently, Mike was on the expedition that located the USS Grunion, a lost WWII submarine, off the shores of Kiska Island, Alaska.
Gwen Noda
Program Coordinator, COSEE-West
University of California, Los Angeles
Gwen Noda earned both her Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology and her Master of Arts degree in Biology (studying the invasive New Zealand Mudsnail in California) from the University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, she is the Program Coordinator for COSEE-West, a National Science Foundation funded K-12 teacher education program, developing ocean-themed classroom curriculum and organizing educational events for teachers. She teaches summer camp in the eastern Sierras and is an instructor for the "Cruising Classroom" field trip program aboard the R/V SeaWorld UCLA. She also continues to work on issues related to the New Zealand Mudsnail, particularly in southern California.
Joseph Christopher Rayos
Fishery Biologist
National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), Philippines
Joseph Christopher Rayos has a bachelor’s degree in Fisheries. He has been involved in fisheries research since 2000 and he is now a Fishery Biologist with the NFRDI, currently assigned to the Marine Fisheries Research Division. He is conducting studies in Larval Fish Identification and Fish Early Life History Science. Previous research involvement includes Shark Fisheries Assessment in the Philippines, Manta Ray (Manta birostris) Resource Assessment Study, Fish Aging Using Otholiths, and Deep-sea Surveys in Philippine waters. He has participated in several international oceanographic and fisheries expeditions in the Philippines and adjacent waters.
Rogelio C. Rivera
Museum Researcher II
National Museum of the Philippines
Dr. Rogelio C. Rivera, works on marine invertebrates and vertebrates(corals and fishes). He is involved in promoting corporate environmental awareness programs and strengthening resource conservation efforts through responsible public service, transfer of knowledge, and continuous research towards sustainable development.
Filemon G. Romero
Professor
Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography
Professor Filemon (“Mon”) Romero has been a faculty member of the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography since 1971, where he rose in faculty rank as well as administrative functions until he became Chancellor from 1989 to 1994. He currently is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Environmental Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, and he is about to defend his paper on “Population Structure of Blue Crabs, Portunuspelagicus in the Visayan Sea.” He has a Master’s degree in Physical Oceanography from the same university. He joined WWF Philippines in 1996, serving as Director of the Oceans and Coasts Program. His engagement with WWF gave him extensive experience in administration and implementation of projects in marine protected areas (MPAs), biodiversity conservation, Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDP), Coastal Resources Management (CRM) and Integrated Coastal Management (ICM). This appointment also gave him many opportunities to travel to various parts of the world. He co-authored the Coral Reef Education for Students and Teachers (CREST) and has published 14 papers.
Mely Romero
Director of Research, MSU-Tawi-Tawi
Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography
Dr. Mely Romero earned her Ph.D. in Agricultural Chemistry from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos in 2001. Her dissertation was on the “Physicochemical Characterization and Structure Elucidation of Agars from Selected Philippine Red Seaweeds”. She has been a faculty of the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi of Technology and Oceanography in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi Philippines since 1972. For her Master’s degree in Biochemistry she did a study on the “Partial Purification and Characterization Acetylcholinesterase of Conus geographus Venom.”
At present, Dr. Romero is the Director of Research of the MSU-Tawi-Tawi. She also leads the Tawi-Tawi Marine Research and Development Foundation, a group of MSU faculty interested in promoting research and development in marine science and fisheries in Southern Philippines. Mely has been doing research on seaweeds culture and processing, and she has published 9 papers in international peer-reviewed and local journals. She earned the Elvira O. Tan Award for Best Paper in Marine Fisheries, International Publications Awards from the University of the Philippines and from the Mindanao State University. She is married to Prof. Filemon Romero and they have five sons.
Gregory S. Stone
Vice President for Global Marine Programs
New England Aquarium
Dr. Stone is a marine biologist who grew up in Massachusetts where he first developed a love for the sea. He is a specialist in undersea technology and exploration, using deep-sea submersibles, undersea habitats and SCUBA diving in all oceans of the world, with over 5,000 dives. Greg has published in leading science journals, including Nature, he has written popular books and articles, and he has produced an award-winning series of marine conservation films. His book Ice Island won the 2003 National Outdoor Book Award for Nature and the Environment, and he recently authored 4 National Geographic Magazine articles on his work. He was the Senior Editor of the International Marine Technology Society Journal from 1997 to 2003, is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club, is a recipient of the Pew Fellowship for Marine Conservation and was awarded the National Science Foundation/U.S. Navy Antarctic Service medal for his research in Antarctica. His most recent National Geographic article was on his expedition to study the effects from the Sumatra tsunami on the coral reefs of Thailand. Greg is an Honorary Associate Professor at the Leigh Marine Laboratory of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and he chairs the marine advisory council for Conservation International. He was recently credited with leading the effort to create the world’s third-largest marine protected area around the Phoenix Islands in the country of Kiribati and was named one of the National Geographic Society’s Heroes of 2007 for this accomplishment.
As well as being a scientists and diver on the Celebes Sea Expedition, Greg will write the National Geographic article on this project.
Ralph White
Research Associate
National Geographic Society
Ralph White is an award-winning cinematographer, video cameraman and editor, with over 30 years of production experience and hundreds of motion picture and television credits to his name. He is a Knight, Order of Saint Lazarus and Knight, Order of Constantine for his filming and conservation accomplishments. For more than 25 years, Ralph has served as a contract cameraman for the National Geographic Society, where he and photographer Emory Kristof pioneered the development of advanced remote cameras, 3D Video, HDTV, and deep ocean imaging and lighting systems. White has made 35 submersible dives to the wreck of the Titanic, photographing the wreck for the IMAX film "Titanica" and for the Academy Award-winning film "Titanic." He has qualified as a copilot on the French Nautile and Russian Mir submersibles, and has been consultant and submersible cameraman for many other feature films and television programs about the deep ocean.
Ralph served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Force Reconnaissance Team Leader, and is a highly decorated Reserve Forces Captain, who commanded the elite and award-winning Los Angeles County Sheriffs Departments Photographic Unit. He is a highly qualified helicopter and astrovision aerial specialist, and a former member of the United States Parachute Team. His cinematography has won the Grenoble Film Festival Gold Medal, Golden Eagle, Cindy, and Golden Halo awards.
