Justin Smith was raised in a fishing family in Gig Harbor, Washington, but a crash in the local fishing economy diverted him from the family business. Knowing he liked ships and being on the water, he decided to explore oceanography in college. Within his first month at the University of Hawaii, he discovered the Hawaii Ocean Time-series program and the research vessel Kilo Moana. His volunteer position on the ship led to a job in the physical oceanography lab. By graduation in 2009 he had logged 220 days at sea, and was inspired to pursue a hands-on, “jack-of-all-trades” career as a marine technician in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet.
A New BIOS Facility for Biological Study
December 10, 2016
A new research facility under construction at BIOS will allow researchers to collect tiny organisms on coral reefs and in the open ocean, then monitor their growth, development, and community structure in temperature-controlled rooms at BIOS that simulate conditions found at sea.
BIOS REU Program Debuts New Format
April 24, 2021
This fall, BIOS will again welcome U.S. undergraduate students to its campus as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. But this year, there will be an exciting new twist to the internship experience.
A Plethora of (Zoo)Plankton Papers
May 29, 2021
While working on board a research vessel positioned 240 miles offshore Ireland in the Atlantic, BIOS zooplankton ecologist Amy Maas announced this month the publication of three new papers in science research journals. Maas, who has spent May at sea with 26 other scientists for the multi-year EXPORTS project (EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing), used Instagram to promote the just-released science publications.
Acting U.S. Consul General Tom Edwardsen Visits BIOS
June 27, 2021
Acting U.S. Consul General Tom Edwardsen visited BIOS on June 22 for a tour of the Institute led by President and CEO Bill Curry. The two-hour tour gave Edwardsen, who is expected to remain in his post until this summer, an opportunity to learn about BIOS’s research and education programs.
A Big Show for Small Organisms
August 28, 2021
Two types of zooplankton will be featured at the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) beginning this summer in a mixed-media exhibit dedicated to reminding us how art can be used to more deeply appreciate our place on this planet. Copepods, small marine crustaceans, and pteropods, tiny marine snails also known as “sea butterflies,” are the focus of this collaborative effort between BIOS and BNG. Some of the artists with works displayed in the series have spent time at BIOS working alongside zooplankton ecologists Leocadio Blanco-Bercial and Amy Maas as they investigate some of the ocean’s smallest and most critically important members of the marine food web.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
September 26, 2021
A new painting graces the walls of the BIOS reception building commemorating friendships formed during the Institute’s 2019 National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) internship and fall semester program. Commissioned by REU intern Harvey Castillo, then a biology major at Northern Arizona University (U.S.), and painted by visual artist Claudia Palacios, the piece reproduces a photograph of Castillo and fellow students watching a sunset from the dock at the BIOS waterfront.
A Climate Connection for College Students
November 28, 2021
Nine Bermuda College students participated in lectures, hands-on laboratory activities, and a plankton-collecting trip during a two-day climate change workshop earlier this month through a partnership between BIOS’s Ocean Academy and the United States Consulate General in Bermuda.
‘The Smell of Disaster’
November 27, 2021
This summer, after a three-week quarantine preceding a six-week research cruise more than 200 miles offshore the United Kingdom, zooplankton ecologist Amy Maas returned to BIOS to await the arrival of more than 800 frozen zooplankton samples she had collected at sea. Preserved in vials and stored on dry ice, she expected them to arrive by expedited air mail in three days. Then she could begin detailed study of the organisms, from calculating their metabolic rates to measuring their individual and community sizes.
Welcoming Three New Instruments for BIOS Research
April 13, 2017
BIOS acquired three new instruments this spring to enrich investigations into the roles and interactions between microbial communities and migrating zooplankton in the Sargasso Sea.