Within the contours of oceanographic data are the stories of great ocean currents, tiny plankton, and life-sustaining nutrients at the surface of the sea.  University students learn to study ocean properties through plots and graphs of these data, but rarely do they get hands-on experience with the instruments that generated them. A new BIOS summer course aims to change that by introducing students to the methods and technologies that have become the bread and butter of modern oceanography.

This Saturday, come cheer on the students competing in the 2015 ROV Angelfish Challenge! Mid-Atlantic Robotics in Education at BIOS. Each team will be piloting their own ROV through a series of underwater challenges at the National Sports Centre. The event opens to the public at 9am – hope to see you there!

Students put their technical skills to the test yesterday as part of an island-wide competition to design the best underwater robot.

This summer BIOS is offering two unique courses focused on coral reef ecology, and both provide exceptional opportunities for university students to gain hands-on experience with modern research methods. Bermuda’s coral reefs provide spectacular underwater classrooms for SCUBA-certified students to experiment and study as they become the next generation of coral reef scientists and stewards.

In 1988, at the age of 20, Maia Patterson McGuire took a break from her usual summer job of working at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo (BAMZ) to accept an internship with BIOS’s Bermuda Program, a move that would change her career trajectory. Through this opportunity, available for Bermudian students, she conducted research with Robbie Smith, now the curator of the Natural History Museum at BAMZ. At the time, he was an adjunct faculty member at BIOS—a position he still holds—in the process of conducting research on coral reef ecology for his doctoral degree.

Growing up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Danielle Becker’s parents encouraged her and her sister to explore and appreciate the natural world. For many years, her family traveled to visit relatives in Florida over spring break and Becker recalls feeling amazed by the ocean.

A new BIOS summer program offered local students aged 12 to 15 an introduction to Bermuda’s marine environment and provided a strong foundation in scientific research, both in the laboratory and the field. Institute education staff developed the Ocean Science Camp to appeal to students who are interested in oceanography but lack previous marine science experience. KPMG and Bermuda Skyport Corporation Ltd. provided bursaries for this year’s camp.

Ed Argenta, a teacher consultant with the Connecticut Geographic Alliance, first came to BIOS almost 40 years ago when he was teaching science at Vernon Center Middle School in central Connecticut. At the time, his colleague Duffy Brookes, had been taking groups of students to BIOS since 1970 as part of an advanced marine studies program. In 1979, Brookes invited Argenta on one of these weeklong “Vernon Bermuda Workshop” trips and, since then, the pair have brought at least one group of students—and sometimes two or more—every year to BIOS for a course in tropical island ecology and ocean science studies.

To visit Nonsuch Island, a lush 14-acre nature reserve located at the east end of Bermuda, the last stretch requires guests to jump from a boat and swim a short distance to shore. For some teens, this may seem like a cool adventure. For those juggling emotional challenges that range from attention disorders and depression to mental health issues, it presents a different hurdle.

Supervisors can help to shape the lives and careers of their students and trainees. Sometimes, they become lifelong mentors and eventual collaborators, contributing to a new generation of scientific discovery. And students can forge meaningful relationships with those senior scientists even at the earliest stages of their science careers.