The OceansWide Board of Advisors

Dale Graves, OceansWide ROV Advisor
Dale has been working in the deep ocean world for over 25 years. He started his career as commercial diver working for International Underwater Contractors (IUC). He worked for IUC for ten years and during that time his career switched from commercial diver to manned submersibles and ROV pilot. After flying commercial submarines for ten years Dale decided to move into the ROV field full time. During this part of his career he spent six years working for Western Instruments and Oceaneering surveying the ocean in the oil and environmental fields. He has spent the past eleven years working for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute as a leader in the institutes ROV program. Dale has trained and supervised the majority of pilots on MBARI’s ROV team “Tiburon” a 4000 meter deep diving ROV. Recently he was promoted to Technical Support Manager in the department of marine operations and is responsible for designing, building and managing the development of a majority of the institute’s critical equipment. Dale is an expert in the all of the systems of ROVs from mechanical to hydraulic, but his specialties lie in the fields of electronics and computer engineering and systems. OceansWide will greatly benefit from the expertise Mr. Graves brings to our program.

Karen Osborn is an invertebrate biologist who studies deep-sea pelagic animals, those that live up off the seafloor in the water column. She is currently at the University of California, Berkeley and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) where she goes to sea regularly to explore the midwater realm with MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) Ventana and Tiburon. Karen’s research focuses on the diversification and ecology of pelagic invertebrates with a special focus on the adaptations necessary to live up in the water column. She will describe a recent expedition to the Weddell Sea, Antarctica where she and her research group used a Phantom ROV to examine animals living around huge free-floating icebergs. Also, Karen will describe the diversity of strange and amazing animals found in the midwater, including several species that are new to science which she has described.

Amy West
Having grown up in the little mountain town of Durango, Colorado, I realized at a very early age that something was missing from my childhood: the ocean. So I shot off to the Caribbean for 4 years in order to acquire my B.S. in marine biology whilst diving among the tropical fish and exploring surrounding islands. Working aboard boats and as a SCUBA diver for a tourist submarine led to sundry underwater adventures. Serving in Peace Corps in a remote Central African region resulted in a rewarding challenge between undergraduate and my entry into grad school. From there I purchased a round-the-world ticket and ended in New Zealand where I eventually obtained my Masters degree in marine science. Here I began exploring a remote fiord with a manned submersible to document life beyond the depths of SCUBA. During my research, I landed an opportune internship at the deep-institute MBARI in Monterey Bay, using their ROVs. This experience eventually convinced me to leave my life abroad and grow some roots in the states. Since then my work aboard a sailing educational vessel kept me occupied by introducing the vessel to many educational, governmental and scientific institutions, and sailing it in the summer as an experiential platform in hands-on marine science for the public. By bringing a mini-ROV aboard, I saw the true value of underwater vehicles in outreach programs. I continue to advocate the use of ROVs for education through my relationship with an ROV company and through writing a novel centered around deep-sea adventures and promoting deep ocean awareness.

Marko Talkovic
Currently I have a daydream job as a Chief pilot and technician for the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). As a youth, my passion for the ocean was fueled by every Jacques Cousteau special that came through the rabbit ears on the television. This inspired me to move as quickly as possible from beneath the shadow of the Matterhorn (in Anaheim, California not Switzerland) to the beaches of southern California. After a few towns and colleges, I received a bachelor’s degree in aquatic biology from UC Santa Barbara. My university schooling, as well as the plethora of research opportunities available there, led me down a most rewarding path. As a research SCUBA diver I worked on projects in California, Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Antarctica. The lattermost sent me off on a seafaring career sailing on ice breakers, schooners and submarine tenders as a marine technician. Through eight years as a homeless boat person, I crossed every major nautical line and circumnavigated Antarctica entirely upon research vessels. Eventually, I cast anchor back onshore at MBARI. When not exploring the oceans with an ROV, I continue to seek remote locations to dive and take undersea photographs. When visibility in the sea is bad, often it’s good enough in the mountains of the western states for a snowboarding excursion.

James Sheppard
As the photo of me snowshoeing shows, I enjoy the outdoors. I’ve spent most of my life in Colorado, hiking in the high country and playing in the snow. Whether it’s mountain sports or riding the waves off Southern California on a boogie board, or traveling around the world, I’m interested in a variety of activities. To support all of this, I work as a technical writer. As a writer, I have managed to find work that has taken me around the world, from Europe to South America to Antarctica. While working in and near Antarctica, I have spent time on icebreakers, my first exposure to the sea. I grew up in North Dakota, where I was as far from an ocean as you can get on this continent. So discovering that I enjoy going to sea was a surprise to me. I’m excited to participate with OceansWide and contribute my writing skills on projects that merge my interest in the outdoors with making a difference in our world.

Bruce H. Robison – Senior Scientist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Bruce Robison received a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1973. He spent two years conducting postdoctoral research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, before moving to UC Santa Barbara. In 1987 he joined the newly formed Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Robison’s research is focused on the biology and ecology of deep sea animals, particularly those that inhabit the oceanic water column. He pioneered the use of undersea vehicles for these studies and he led the first team of scientists trained as research submersible pilots. As pilot or observer, Robison has spent a good portion of his career in deep water, aboard more than a dozen different submersibles. At MBARI, his research team has focused on the development of remotely operated vehicles as research platforms for deep-sea research.

Bruce Robison is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2002 he received the Marine Technology Society’s Lockheed-Martin Award for Ocean Science and Engineering. His research in deep-sea ecology has carried him throughout the Pacific, to the Atlantic, and to the oceanic waters around Antarctica. He is the author of two books and more than eighty scientific publications.