- Les Kaufman
Les Kaufman is an Associate Professor of Biology in the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) and is an avid teacher and researcher. From 1983-1994 he held various positions at The New England Aquarium, and retained affiliation as a NEAq's "Research Scholar." Les studies the evolution and community ecology of fishes. He is an expert on coral reef fishes, and the fishes of the Great Lakes of Africa. Much of his time is spent building a stronger scientific foundation for marine conservation biology, and trying to get fishermen and scientists to work together. Just getting scientists to work together is difficult enough, sometimes! Les has led two prior saturation missions, one on Hydrolab and one in Aquarius...so he must be older than he looks. Les will be working with his team-mates on the movement patterns of reef fishes using acoustic telemetry. He will also be performing an experiment about the effects on coral growth of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is part of his ongoing research with Columbia University colleagues at the Biosphere 2 coral reef mesocosm in Arizona.
Les loves his hobbies of astronomy, birdwatching, music, scuba-diving, and skiing, but not as much as his wife Jackie and 19 year-old son, Justin. His greatest hope is that his son might one day see the reefs of Florida and Jamaica looking once again as they did when his father first donned mask and fins to slip into their world.