Kristi Gardner
Research Specialist
Biological and Marine Sciences
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
kgardner@biol.sc.edu

I just started working at USC in September, so I was very excited when I found out that I would be able to be a part of the Aquarius mission. (Even if I am going to be surface support, and won't be getting wet.) My position at USC is rather unique. I spend most of my time doing research on everything from the body temperatures of intertidal mussels to water flow over corals. For the second part of my job, I am in the process of creating educational modules for K-12 teachers that translate the current research that I am participating in into fun and educational activities. The hope is that this will provide both students and teachers with a clearer view of what "real" marine biologists are currently doing in the field.

As for how I became interested in marine science, I would love to say that I have known that I wanted to be a marine biologist since I was 5 years old and that I spent every summer of my young life playing in tide pools. However, that's not how it happened. The truth is that I have been interested in marine biology only since high school. Like many people, I went on school field trips and family vacations to the coast and had a good time, but it never really created that "spark" for me. Now, I know this may sound a little strange, but Hollywood is responsible for starting me on the path to the sciences. I saw the movie The Abyss and I started to think about how incredibly huge the ocean was, and how much we don't know about it. My imagination (finally) took off. I started to wonder about all of the bizarre critters that could be living on the bottom of the sea. There was so much to learn, and I wanted to be a part of it. Now, since I grew up in the hills of western Massachusetts, I thought I should probably study marine biology near an ocean, so I went to Roger Williams University on the Rhode Island coast. After school, I traveled all over the east coast and into the Caribbean studying and teaching marine science to anyone who would listen. Now, I am looking forward to being able to share my experiences with even more students after the Aquarius mission. By the way, to set the mood, we are bringing a copy of The Abyss to watch during the Aquarius mission.