Dr. Octopus
Louise Allcock acquired the name Dr. Octopus because she studies octopuses. Louise is also known as, Deep Sea Diva. (She loves the name ‘diva’ as it implies someone who owns their passion). As the two nicknames indicate, Louise wears two hats: cephalopod evolution and ecology, and the deep sea.
From Queens to coastal California; how elephant seals drew Ianna to Northern California.
An 8th grade Earth Science class sparked Ianna’s interest in science. Then teachers in high school told her about doing research in the Hudson River with the Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University where the focus was climate and earth sciences. Ianna jumped in!
Ianna eventually researched data about Arctic ice with Dr. Robert Newton. The following summer Ianna worked as an intern for a grad student at Yale University where her project consisted of using QGIS (Open-source GIS) to map both past and present parks in NYC.
Throughout her education, Ianna’s experience shows us that there are many summer opportunities a middle and high school student.
Chuck Baxter“Well, I'm not sure, we better ask Chuck," was a constant refrain while developing Shape of Life more than 20 years ago. It was Chuck's vision that inspired the production of the original Shape of Life television series. All ideas were run by Chuck where he had the final word on scientific information. As we developed our website and expanded our offering, Chuck was always consulted. (See the making of the new Tree of Life). Needless to say we are indebted to Chuck for the many ways he has enriched our experiences at Shape of Life where he will remain our guiding influence.
Linda Holland had been doing biology since she was nine years old: sometimes out in nature, sometimes in the lab. Learn more about Linda’s long road as a woman in science.
Tatiana’s natural curiosity and love of the ocean in Costa Rica led her to the amazing world of coral reefs. Her master’s degree in Integrated Marine Coastal Management allows her save coral reefs and expand community awareness of the importance of coral health.
Lean More About Raising Coral with Tatiana
The Real Prince of WhalesMeet Jeremy Goldbogen. He tags whales. Yep, he pretty much has one of the coolest jobs of anyone we know.
Through Jeremy’s research we get to cruise the ocean on the back of whales and experience how they eat krill, make those amazing noises and maneuver with surprising agility. With a device the size of a book, Jeremy speaks volumes about the largest animals ever known to live on earth.
Join Amanda as she shares the magnificent world of sponges and how they go to battle with the climate crisis.
Where Engineering Meets Science
When Kakani asked her engineer grandfather what direction she should explore in her education, he replied, “well, civil engineering is about concrete, and that can get boring. So, aerospace seems like a good idea.”
And so began an incredible journey from championship figure skating to groundbreaking discoveries of our oceans and how much we have to learn from larvaceans. Larvaceans, our featured chordate, are a vital part of the food web. Through Dr. Kakani Katija’s research we have learned just how pervasive plastics are in our oceans.
“Really, I want to develop tools that will help science discovery explode.”
- Dr. Kakani Katija
Professor and Department Chair, Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
Like so many kids Matthew loved dinosaurs when he was growing up in Vancouver, B.C. It wasn’t a direct route from “dinos” to his current career, though. He was lucky enough to take a geology class in the 12th grade and discovered he was fascinated by fossils and rocks and geology. And, like many future paleontologists, Matthew enjoyed the outdoors, boy scouts and hiking. In college he liked chemistry and geology but wasn’t thinking paleontology until he took a class in it and thought: “I can do this!”