VISIONS'22 - Changing Students Lives

RCA : VISIONS'22 - Changing Students Lives

This year, 25 undergraduate students and three graduate students will participate on the Regional Cabled Array Operations and Maintenance cruise as part of the VISIONS'22 at-sea experiential learning program. They include students from the US, India, Saudi Arabia, France, and Kazakhstan. They represent a breadth of disciplines spanning Oceanography (11), Engineering (9: Mechanical, Industrial, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Aeronautics and Astronautics), Biology (6: Biology, Marine Biology, and Microbiology), Geology (1), and Policy Studies focused on ocean equity and the United Nations Convention (1). They will stand 4 hr on, 8 hr off watches in the ROPOS control center, learn how to conduct CTD casts and collect and process fluid samples, and work on deck. Three additional undergraduate student ambassadors, who have participated in past VISIONS' expeditions (1-3 years), will help mentor the students. All will complete cruise blogs on the Interactiveoceans VISIONS'22 Expedition site, and science-engineering and/or engagement projects lasting 1 quarter to several years. Two students have already chosen projects involving advanced genetic analyses of vent animals and protists for their Senior Thesis in Oceanography. Based on discussions with past students and their blogs, for many this is a life changing experience. Note: two past VISIONS students are now APL engineers as part of the RCA team.