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Clare Dominik I am Florida native currently living in California attending Moss Landing Marine Laboratories as a student in the Phycology Lab. My master's research involves the study of Pleurophycus gardneri a deep-water brown alga. To determine the carbon budget of this alga, monthly measurements of light, growth, productivity, pigments, storage compounds and carbon will be taken for one year. I am interested in this mission because it involves similar work to my own but on a different species and it is technically challenging. This is my first NURC mission and I am glad to be home again. In second grade I attended a program two days out of the week which gave students a chance to have science and creative writing classes that were not taught in my elementary school. Mrs. McCauly, the science teacher, showed us a salt crystal and sand grain under a microscope, which opened my eyes to a world I never knew existed. From then on I was a science geek. My interest in marine biology began in seventh grade in my life science class taught at George Washington Carver middle school here in Miami. Mrs. Stevens had a wide assortment of animals but the highlight was a large saltwater aquarium with fish and invertebrates that she would catch herself snorkeling in the Keys. This prompted all sorts of questions, which resulted in viewing several underwater documentaries hosted by Cousteau. I began an internship with Dade County's DERM (Department of Environmental Resources Management) in the Artificial Reef Program after being certified to scuba dive with my Dad by the age of 16. I chose to study the Pacific Ocean for my undergraduate degree at University of California at Santa Cruz. After relearning scuba all over again with a wetsuit, hood, gloves, waves, and later drysuits, I received my scuba instructor's license in 1996. I spent my junior year abroad at James Cook University in Australia. This year was the best year of my life. I learned vast amounts about people, life and most importantly gained practical knowledge of marine biology that you can't read in any book. I then participated in a research project in the Aleutian Islands for two summers, which solidified my dedication to marine ecology despite surface intervals including sideways hail and hard work. After completing my master's degree I plan to go on for a Ph.D in ecology. |
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