Penn State Scientific Diving Success Stories

Adam Jung, B.S. Enivornmental Resource Management

After graduating from Penn State in 2018, Adam Jung spent six months living in Ifaty, Madagascar working as a Research Assistant/Divemaster Intern for Reef Doctor, a non-profit organization focused on marine and coastal conservation and education. More....

Rich Karp, B.S. Chemistry

Rich Karp was recently awarded the Master of Professional Science Award for Excellence in Ocean Stewardship. Karp, B.S. Chemistry, 2014, is a graduate of Penn State’s scientific diving program. Karp won the award for his research at the University of Miami, while completing a graduate degree in Professional Science, Exploration Science. More....

Caitlyn Livsey, M.S. Geosciences

Caitlyn Livsey is currently working on her Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California-Davis with Dr. Howie Spero. Her research uses the geochemistry of planktonic foraminifera to reconstruct paleooceanography. More....

Mike Bollinger, B.S. Biology, Marine Science Minor

Mike Bollinger, Penn State B.S., Biology, 2012, completed his masters at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (2015) where he worked on a project funded by the Artificial Reef Program of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The project team monitors artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast. More....

Sharmila Giri, B.S. Biology

Sharm Giri is a Ph.D. candidate in Marine Geology and Geophysics at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She is growing corals in elevated concentrations of calcium and magnesium and measuring Mg/Ca in the skeletons, tissues and symbionts. More....

Allison Place, B.S. Biology

Allison Place is a biologist aide at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. SCUBA diving is a big part of her job, as she dives in various exhibits at the aquarium, including the 760,000-gallon Ocean Realm, the 550,000-gallon Shark Realm, the West African River Experience, and several of the smaller Caribbean- themed exhibits. More....

Suzie Marlow, B.S. Biology

Suzie Marlow spent time scientific diving with University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. More....

Jamie Caldwell, B.S. Enivornmental Resource Management

Jamie Caldwell is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a NASA Earth and Space Fellow studying infectious disease dynamics in coral reefs. More....

Kira Turnham, Ph.D. Biology

Kira Turnham is currently working on her Ph.D. in Biology in the Eberly College of Science. While pursing her B.S. at New Mexico State University, Kira worked in Dr. Michele Nishiguchi’s symbiosis lab and collected squid and their bioluminescent bacterial symbionts to study their regional phylogeography in the Philippines. More...