My name is Deepa Dwyer, a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University! I’m very excited to join the Cascadia H.O.P.S. cruise in July; this will be my first scientific cruise. As my first cruise, there will be several unfamiliar territories and that much more to look forward to on this ambitious experience. 

My previous graduate research was a two-part study that evaluated the paleomagnetic records of sediment core NBP0502-1B from Maxwell Bay Antarctica, and the Shergotty, Nakhla, Chassigny (SNC) Martian meteorite Yamato-908459 (Y-98). The goal of the Maxwell Bay core NBP0502-1B study was to determine whether the core can be utilized as a magnetic dating record for the Antarctic Peninsula; the core recorded material within  Holocene Epoch. The goal of the SNC Martian meteorite (Y-98) study was to determine the sample’s ability to record magnetic anomalies detected during the Mars Global Surveyor Mission. I look forward to contributing my previous research experience to this new endeavor.

I also come from a strong informal education and science communication background and will be incorporating many of the cruise discoveries in educational outreach! I have worked with K-12 students and teachers, boy scouts, girl scouts, and the home school communities. My favorite projects included Partners in Science and pathways, a summer research program for high school students. Through these programs I and an opportunity to collaborate with research scientists from several fields to engage high school students from various socio-economic backgrounds as we supported their passions for scientific pursuits.   

Stay tuned, can’t wait to share more soon! You can follow my journey at @Cel3st86 and #HighResCascadia