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Ocean Lecture Series
To Russia With Love
Shirley A. Pomponi, Ph.D.
About the Lecture
The Russian Mir submersibles are among the deepest diving research submersibles in the world, capable of diving to 6000 m. They were used to document the wreck of the Titanic, to inspect the sunken Russian atomic submarine Kursk, and to plant a Russian flag under the North Pole in 2007. For the summers of 2008 and 2009, the Mir’s are exploring the world’s deepest and largest freshwater lake—Lake Baikal in Siberia. The lake is home to many species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else—including Shirley’s favorite animal—sponges!!!
Shirley and HBOI Chief Submersible Pilot Don Liberatore had the opportunity to participate in the expedition this past summer and observe this unique environment from the Mir. They will present highlights of this trip—as well as some of our
Johnson-Sea-Link
submersible expeditions.
About the Speaker
Dr. Shirley Pomponi is Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute's Executive Director. She holds a B.A. in Biology from the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, New Jersey, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS). She joined Harbor Branch in 1984. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 scientific publications and is co-inventor on several patents.
Shirley has held numerous positions in advising ocean policy, including current appointments to the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council and the federal Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel. She chairs both the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, is Vice-Chair of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and President-elect of the Southern Association of Marine Laboratories, and is on the board of Midwest Research Institute, the Women Divers Hall of Fame, and the U.S. Committee for the Census of Marine Life. But what she enjoys the most is puttering around in the lab and going out to sea!
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