If you want to find someone who was completely unqualified to live on a marine research vessel, look no further than me. I am from Arizona. My natural habitat consists of cacti, dry heat, and air conditioning. Before June 6th, the closest I had ever been to the ocean was a seafood restaurant, and my […]
R/V Sally Ride Deployment Day (By Lisa Eccles)
Day 8 of our 2YC faculty cruise is the day we depart from our home aboard the R/V Sally Ride for the last week. It has been an incredible week of learning alongside faculty from across the country. Packing and cleaning up is a busy task, but a welcome distraction from having to say goodbye. […]
Reigniting the Excitement for Research (By Beth Dushman)
Day 7 of our 2YC faculty cruise! Today is our last full day on the Sally Ride, and it’s been a good one so far. For me, the day started with an early, short visit to the ship’s gym. The gym may be the most booby-trapped gym I’ve ever visited. It requires a shimmy down […]
Imposter Syndrome (By Halle Morrison)
Imposter syndrome is strong with this one, it is. The feelings are a product of so much systemic bias you internalize during your life. I thought I had a handle on it waking up early and getting on the plane at O’Hare last week. After all, my work as a professor in Chicago has a […]
Tiny Books, Big Conversation (By Janice Ledgerwood)
On a research vessel, everyone arrives carrying something: equipment, research questions, expectations, and a small gift to share with the temporary community that will live and work together at sea. My contribution was a stack of handmade tiny books, drawing pencils, acrylic paint markers, and some ideas to explore for anyone who wanted to participate. […]
Be Curious, Not Judgmental (By Jordan Adams)
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the idea of “community”. We can all be neatly grouped into our communities both within, and outside of, our careers. Each STEMSEAS 2026 2YC attendee spends a lot of time in the classroom. Several of us are married, some are parents, many of us are fond […]
The Clock on the Wall (By Rus Higley)
The digital clock on the wall in the lab says 158:21:40:00, which probably doesn’t mean a lot to most people. The first number, 158, means that today is the 158th day of 2026, while the rest tells me it is 9pm (2100 military time), 40 minutes, and zero seconds. I’ve never counted days in the […]
The Horizon Expands (By Pete Berquist)
Yesterday we woke up to a drizzly Seward, AK, after our first night onboard the R/V Sally Ride. We were tied up at the dock but still felt a subtle and unpredictable roll every now and then. We all checked in with our Chief Scientist, Marina Halverson, by 0645 to verify we were onboard; the […]
The Adventure before the Voyage (By John Burris)
Welcome to the June 2026 2YC Faculty STEMSEAS Expedition! We’ve had an eventful and educational couple of days, and we haven’t even set out to sea yet. We all began our first full day of the trip in Anchorage Alaska on June 5, waking to a clear and surprisingly warm day (for Alaska, not for […]
STEMSEAS You Later! (by Gideon Tong)
Today’s a mostly chill day, we’ll be arriving in Seward in the afternoon and we have to start cleaning up. It’s been a long trip and we’ve learned a lot and made many memories. As always, we gathered in the lab for our morning session. We were awarded STEMSEAS certificates for completing the voyage! Not […]
