SEAS Cruise 2007 : People
Tim Shank - Chief Scientist
- What do you do? Where do you work?
- I am a marine biologist. I work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, but actually, considering how much I travel, I guess you could also say I work at sea!
- What is your role on this cruise?
- On this cruise, I am the chief scientist. There are four co-investigators (Dr. Lutz, Dr. Luther, Dr. Vetriani and myself) and we are each involved in planning the coordinated research of our teams. It is ultimately my responsibility to make the final day-to-day decisions about executing the research during our cruise. This means, for example, that it's my responsibility to finalize each day's dive plan, and to be certain that all of our research objectives are being met. It can be a challenging job at times, but also very rewarding.
- What is your education/training? What do you study currently?
- I majored in biology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and then earned my Ph.D. in marine ecology and evolution at Rutgers University, in New Jersey. The goal of my research is to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that structure benthic marine communities and their diversity - specifically the chemosynthetic communities that live at hydrothermal vents around the world. I study processes that include larval dispersal, colonization, gene flow, population differentiation, and faunal speciation. My students and I look at the genetic relationships among populations, communities, and individual organisms to infer mechanisms of gene flow, larval dispersal, and recruitment.
- What inspired you to choose your career & who were your role models?
- My initial interests in the ocean were sparked at the age of 4 while growing up with frequent visits to Cape Hatteras, NC. My most early memories are those catching spanish mackerel, croakers, and blue fish in the surf, as well as hunting for ghost crabs at night with my brothers. As for who inspired me, I'd have to say it's the women in my life- or better said, my mother and my wife. Both have encouraged me at different points in my life, to have the courage to follow my greatest dreams, convictions, and commitments. Scientifically, I've been inspired by Dr. Conrad Neumann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Dr. Richard Lutz (Rutgers University). Dr. Neumann challenged me to apply other scientific disciplines such as genetics to marine biology. Dr. Lutz gave me opportunities to show what I could do and allowed me to pursue my dream.
- Please describe your family:
- Though I'm a native of North Carolina and avid Tarheel, I have a beautiful
Pennsylvania farm wife, Leslie, and two awesome daughters, Emmy 7, and Callie 4 years old. Emmy was born 6 weeks before I left for an Alvin cruise in the Sea of Cortez, and Callie, just ten days before I led of team of scientists with Alvin to the Galapagos
Rift.
- What are some of your favorite things about life at sea?
- Diving in a submersible to the seafloor to be amongst the animals living in thermal vents has to top the list. It is absolutely fascinating- watching animals feed and sometimes spawn. I once saw a crab catch and devour a worm, and saw two worms fighting over a tube dwelling on the side of a black smoker vent, and a giant dumbo octopus swim right in front of the submarine!
- What do you do in your free time?
- I really like to do things outdoors, especially hiking and observing wildlife. I play the piano when I can. I like kayaking. I'm a revolutionary war history buff. I also like landscaping and family geneology.
- Do you have any message for SEAS students?
- Learn all you can about whatever system you want to work in. Listen, respect those who have gone before you, open your mind to possibilities even if improbable, and think creatively in understanding the world around you. And if you examine yourself and learn who you are, you will understand that you can attain all your dreams, including being the next generation of leading marine biologists.
