This presentation was part of a workshop that happened November 10-11 in partnership with Chick Tech Portland, a local nonprofit dedicated to retaining women in the technology workforce and increasing the number of women and girls pursuing technology-based careers. We worked with --- girls from local high schools at Portland State's Maseeh College of Engineering and computer science.
About Jenny Woodman
I'm a science writer and teacher. I completed graduate school at Portland State in 2016, receiving a masters of fine arts (MFA) in creative writing. For the last four years, I worked for a small online publication called IEEE Earthzine, which was funded by NASA and the Oceanic Engineering Society. My beat was all things ocean related. I covered a wide range of topics -- from how climate change is altering our ocean's chemistry to emerging satellite technologies for monitoring hurricanes and ocean winds to educational programs developed to inspire the next generation of ocean scientists and engineers. Currently, I head a science communication nonprofit called Proteus.
After writing about the ocean for several years, I wanted to get out there and see what it was like to study something so complicated and immense. I wanted to go to sea. Last year, I was accepted into Oceanographer Bob Ballard's Corps of Exploration as a science communication fellow. The fellowship allowed me to work on board Ballard's ship, the Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus. Here's an article about what we did.
I returned to the Nautilus in 2018 for a joint mission with NASA and academic partners. We explored the Lōihi Seamount, an active underwater volcano off the coast of Hawai`i, with robots; the seamount served as an analog for future space missions to ocean worlds like Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Now, let's get to know each other!
This summer, I sailed with some pretty cool people. How did they get to be on a science expedition at sea?
That’s me! I’ve studied science communication and creative writing with an emphasis nonfiction.
Jessica Sandoval, Argus pilot and Ph.D. candidate in robotics, with a focus on bio-materials. She has degrees in biological and mechanical engineering.
Jessica Sandoval and Antonella Wiley, Antonella is also an Argus pilot and a Ph.D. student who designs robots to explore extreme environments, particularly in the ocean. She’s a National Geographic Explorer; her studies focused on computer science and engineering.
Dr. Nicole Raineault is Vice President of Exploration and Science Operations for the Ocean Exploration Trust and the E/V Nautilus. Nicole studied: marine science, geology, and oceanography.
Dr. Xara Mirmalek and Mary Nichols. Xara, a social scientist, holds a Ph.D. in communication and science and has studied public administration and policy as well as history. Mary is a video engineer with a long career in journalism and teaching.
Dr. Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert is an astrobiologist; she studies tiny microbes found in the sea and her research may help us understand where to look for life on other planets. Elizabeth studied environmental science, chemistry, physics and geobiology.
Wendy Snyder is graduate student studying navigation systems for autonomous underwater vehicles. She studies mechanical engineering with an emphasis on inertial navigation and oceanic engineering.
What's your favorite thing about school right now, at this moment?
Chocolate talk
- Red: favorite hobbies
- Green: favorite foods
- Yellow: favorite movies
- Orange: favorite places to travel (or places you hope to visit)
- Brown: most memorable or embarrassing moments
- Blue: wild cards (they can share anyone they choose)
Our Pale Blue Dot
Why did Carl Sagan refer to Earth as a pale blue dot?
- Interconnected bodies of water cover 70 percent of the Earth, forming one world ocean.
- The ocean regulates our climate and makes our blue planet habitable -- about 70 percent of the oxygen we breathe is produced by our ocean.
- Most of the living things on the planet are aquatic.
- The longest mountain range in the world is found under water. Stretching over 56,000km, the Mid-Oceanic Ridge is a mountain chain that runs along the centre of the ocean basins.
- The sea can be described as the planet’s mega museum. There are more artefacts and remnants of history in the ocean than in all of the world’s museums combined!
Read more: Ocean Facts! by National Geographic
Exploration
- Exploration is key: If we don't go explore, we'll never know what's there!
- 95 percent of the ocean remains poorly explored or unexplored altogether.
- We have better maps of the moon and Mars than of our own home planet.
- Many seafloor maps were created using satellites, which aren't very good at seeing the ocean floor. According to my friends on board the E/V Nautilus, satellites map tiny changes in the ocean surface, but high resolution maps of the seafloor can reveal height differences of hundreds of meters! In some cases, the lack of detail that means you can look at a map and not see huge underwater mountains.
- Deepest point in the ocean: Mariana Trench, 10,994 meters (36,070 feet)
- Only three humans have every traveled to that depth. It's dangerous, expensive, and it takes a long time to get there. Imagine if your commute to school took six to eight hours, round trip? You wouldn’t have much time for studying!
- It's cold, dark, and there's tremendous pressure -- imagine the weight of all that water pressing down on you, or the submersible vessel you're traveling in!
- Read more about the history of deep ocean exploration here.
- ROV: Remotely operated vehicle
- No crew
- Tethered to ship and operated remotely by a pilot
- Highly maneuverable
- Loaded with mission specific equipment
Tools for Hercules
Hercules can be outfitted with whatever is needed to accomplish a given expedition's mission.
- Cameras
- Robotic arms
- Sensors
- Instruments for collecting samples, like the suck-it
- Storage bins for collecting samples
- Water bottles for collecting water samples, environmental, or e-DNA, and more
Kaitlyn Becker
I design and build soft robots. Soft robots are typically made of materials like rubber, fabric, and plastics. The primary advantage of soft robots is that they are inherently safe for interacting with humans and animals due to their natural compliance. This compliance is also advantageous for gripping and manipulating delicate objects and complex shapes because soft grippers can conform to an object’s shape and evenly distribute grasping forces.
Let's spend five minutes coming up with a few questions to ask Kaitlyn!
Now let's call her!
Hydraulics
- The word hydraulics comes from Greek word Hudraulikos -- hudor--meaning water and aulos -- meaning pipe.
- We push hydraulic fluid through pistons and pipes help us work (Wulff).
- Here are some videos of hydraulic machines in action.