- Otto Rutten
- Florida Ops Associate Director
NOAA’s Undersea Research Center
I was born in Wilmington, NC where I lived until moving to Key Largo, FL in 1994. I grew up loving the ocean and dreaming about becoming a marine biologist and living in the Florida Keys. After a few wayward years studying civil engineering I found my way to Cape Fear Community college and studied marine technology. After graduation I began the marine biology program at UNCW. While there I interned with the Division of Marine Fisheries for a summer and that lead to a full time job before finishing my BS. While working for marine fisheries full time I continued my education part time, eventually graduating with a BS and masters in marine biology. While working on my masters I became involved with the NURC program in Wilmington. The association with NURC and other professors at UNCW lead to several research trips to the NURC Key Largo facility. The combination of my science background and hands on field experience lead to a two year job at NURC in Key Largo helping study grounding sites. I have stayed on with NURC becoming the dayboat coordinator, assistant science director, science manager, and ultimately the associate director. Along the way I have helped support 100’s of projects, become a regulator repair technician, dive instructor, trimix diver, rebreather diver, and a diver medical technician. This will be my first saturation mission as a habitat technician. I am as excited as the scientists to have this opportunity.
