UAF GRADUATE WITH AN MS DEGREE IN MARINE BIOLOGY AND PAST RESEARCH TECHNICIAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
WHAT HE STUDIES:
-Kelp forest ecology
-Scientific diving
EDUCATION:
B.S. Biological Sciences
M.S. Marine Biology
THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED IN THE SCIENCE FIELD IS... "to volunteer. You have to make your interests known to people... The people who ask questions, that's what highlights you as someone who (gets into grad school)."
Martin talks about how he got involved with marine research and scientific diving at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. (01:15)
I was just sort of taking biology classes until I stumbled upon this poster that said ‘Scientific Diving here at UAF’ and I thought, ‘well, why the heck not’ and it looked pretty cool.
I was looking for a change, so I took that class with Dr. Conar and it really changed my life in a lot of ways.
After I put on that dry suit and got under the water, I really realized the amazing diversity of life we have here in these super cold waters. It was hard for me to imagine before because I’d never stuck my face into the water before.
Just seeing a kelp forest for the first time and all the amazing plant and invertebrate life in there really made me realize that this was a thing that I could do. So after that I took the class again, and then I took it again, and then I ended up joining Brenda’s lab, and becoming a scientific diver for her.
Then eventually became a grad student, which has led me to a lot of other cool fieldwork that’s not diving related as well, including this icebreaker expedition that I went on with Rolf.
