Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
Scientists from around the world will attend a meeting in the Galapagos Islands at the end of June to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent system. The meeting will address recent issues in vent science, including plans to mine remnants of these chemosynthetic ecosystems using deep-sea gold-diggers.
Hydrothermal vents introduced the idea of chemosynthesis as a precondition for life to a broad spectrum of society back in the late 70's when alternative lifestyles were gaining widespread acceptance. Before that time photosynthesis was the most commonly held metabolic pathway.
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Photo: French ROV Victor 6000 sampling black smokers. Credit: Daniel Desbruyeres.
