Undergraduate Research Experiences Help Launch Academic Career in Marine Science

by Deborah K. Steinberg

It's hard to believe that seventeen years have passed since my undergraduate research experience at UCSB last appeared in a College of Letters and Science publication. Back then I was a senior majoring in aquatic sciences and had returned from my very first oceanographic cruise. The College of Letters and Science wrote a short blurb about me that my parents still have posted in their kitchen (how embarrassing!) I am now an Associate Professor of Marine Sciences at the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). There is no doubt that my undergraduate research experience at UCSB helped shape my career in a field of science that is challenging, exciting, and fun.

I remember the exact day in class when Dr. Barbara Prezelin announced she needed a few undergraduate volunteers for a research cruise to the Sargasso Sea. I thought, "That sounds exciting" and decided to apply, but where was the Sargasso Sea anyway? Turns out the Sargasso Sea is another name for the subtropical North Atlantic (where the floating seaweed Sargassum is abundant). Little did I know that ten years later I would be a research oceanographer in Bermuda, and the Sargasso Sea would be my back yard. I worked in Barbara's laboratory to learn the techniques I needed for the cruise (a study of the physiology of phytoplankton-microscopic 'drifting' plants in the sea). On that first cruise I learned what doing oceanographic field research was all about and I was hooked. I also learned how much fun it was.

When I returned from the cruise I knew I wanted to be an oceanographer but I wasn't sure what area of research I was most interested in, so I explored some more. It was then I began working in Dr. Alice Alldredge's laboratory. There I gained experience working higher up the food chain with zooplankton (small 'drifting' animals in the sea). Alice also taught me 'blue-water' SCUBA diving. Tethered to lines attached to a small boat, blue-water divers sample in mid-water, where you can't see the bottom. Some of the most amazing experiences I've had in the ocean were on cruises near the Channel Islands, blue-water diving with jellyfish and being visited by Mola mola (ocean sunfish). By this time I was experienced in the laboratory and in the field, which gave me a leg up when an opportunity arose to go on a cruise to the Antarctic with Drs. Langdon Quetin and Robin Ross. I had two unforgettable cruises to the Antarctic with their research team to study krill, including an opportunity to stay at Palmer Station, the U.S. research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. What incredible creatures we pulled up in our nets! I knew zooplankton ecology would remain my focus in the future.

By the time I graduated from UCSB, I had already been on numerous oceanographic cruises and knew I wanted to study zooplankton as a researcher and to teach marine science. On to graduate school I went. Six years as an oceanographer at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. followed, and now three years as an Associate Professor at VIMS. My undergraduate mentors at UCSB are now my colleagues and friends. I currently have both a PhD student and a postdoctoral researcher in my laboratory who came through UCSB's programs. It's funny how it all works out.

I feel fortunate to have had such terrific research experiences early in my career. They helped me get into graduate school, and ultimately led to jobs I have greatly enjoyed. I also feel fortunate to have had such accomplished women mentors so early in my academic experience. They made me realize, "Hey, I could do that too." Since my days at UCSB I have mentored many undergraduates and graduate students too. Their enthusiasm brings a breath of fresh air to my research programs. I hope students will remember that when they feel a bit awkward (just as I did) walking into their professor's office to see if there might be any opportunities available. Taking that step really can shape what you ultimately end up doing in your career.

Deborah K. Steinberg graduated from UCSB in 1987. She is now an Associate Professor of Marine Sciences at the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).

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