"…they were relatively long shifts. But work-life balance is still important…and so we had a couple of fun activities that we would do."

Nannofossil paleontologist Claire Routledge highlights the need for a work-life balance while working 12-hours shifts, 7 days a week, for two months. After sailing on the South Atlantic Transect (Expedition 390), Claire shares her work responsibilities with nannofossils (along with...

"I thought I might speak about – it's a little bit sad – but the day we heard that the ship business is no more after 2024"

Aidan Leetz joined JOIDES Resolution as a thin section technician for Expedition 390 in 2022. In this conversation, he shares his journey to joining the JR, his reaction to the news of the end of JR operations, and why he's...

"…that first time looking up the central stairwell, seeing all the different logos from before… seeing just that snapshot of history…"

Bonus audio! Andrew McIntyre and Laura Guertin both sailed on JOIDES Resolution for the first time during Expedition 390 (South Atlantic Transect I) and sat down to record a conversation four months after their time on the JR had ended....

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Stephany Mason and Tabitha Mason

Tabitha Mason, 22, asks her step-mother Stephany Mason, 46, about her career as well as the challenges of joining a family.

“I want to do good science, which to me, doing good science and with great people makes it fun.” An interview with Susan Bates

Susan Bates has always been interested by the physical world and especially the ocean. She remembers standing on the beach as a kid in North Carolina wondering where the waves came from. Now, she gets to predict what the ocean...

"It's not data science, it's just science." interview with Dawn Wright and Mark Parsons

Dawn Wright, ESRI and Mark Parsons, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, share with us their journeys into data mapping, and how the field has grown, including at AGU. Before AGU embraced mapping scientists, people were starting to leave AGU. Now, they’re back,...

“Science for me is a passion. I tell my students, if you're not having fun, do something else” An interview with Gregory Cutter

Having an idol is important in science so you can see yourself doing something similar. Gregory Cutter met his idol, Jacques Cousteau, when he was an assistant professor at Old Dominion University. As an oceanography professor, he worked with different...

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Ronald Britton and Chapin Montague

Ronald "Ron" Britton (71) recounts to StoryCorps facilitator Chapin Montague [no age given] his youth as a self-proclaimed military brat, the lives of his parents, and his career in oceanography and marine biology, all while sitting on the wood-lined deck...

"Microfossils help us address the questions we can't otherwise answer"

Micropaleontologist and biostratigrapher Christopher Lowery shares his experience on a mission-specific platform for Expedition 364 during the drilling of the Chicxulub K-Pg impact crater. Hear how he describes how ocean drilling is like flipping the pages of a book backwards...

"He said, do you want to work on the carbonates in the Chicxulub Impact Crater? And my jaw dropped and I was like – Oh, of course!"

Carbonate sedimentologist Michael Whalen participated as a shore-based scientist on Expedition 364, Chicxulub: Drilling the K-Pg Impact Crater. Mike discusses his interest in these sediments, his time working on material at the Breman Core Repository in Germany, and how having...

"The camaraderie that we had on the ship is still going… that’s a really special thing about being on the JR. And being a part of IODP."

What is it like to be a graduate student as part of the science party on JOIDES Resolution? Celeste Pallone shares her experience as a sedimentologist on Expedition 397 (Iberian Margin Paleoclimate, Oct-Dec 2022) as an early career scientist and...

"I joined an Oceanography club & actually asked the question that ended up [being] my thesis." an interview with Michael Freilich

Michael Freilich, Director of NASA's Earth Science Division, shares about his life studying the oceans and Earth as a system. While still in his high school's oceanography club, he started exploring a question about how waves move that later became...

"Each time you go out [on the JR], you see very different things based on your experience, level and just interests."

Microbiologist Jason Sylvan has sailed on JOIDES Resolution for three expeditions - each time, packing his camera and tripod. Jason shares how he captures photos to convey the work done on the ship, along with personal aspects of collecting photos...

"[the Chikyu] was not on my wish list… but I can't overstate how powerful the experience was [including] landing in a Bell 412 helicopter"

Structural geologist Jon Lewis sailed on Expedition 315 on the scientific research vessel Chikyu in 2007 - his first-ever at-sea experience. Jon explains this riser vessel, the training required for the helicopter landing necessary to join the ship, as well...

“Apollo 11….That's when I said, I don't have to be a businessman, I don't have to go into the military." an interview with Michael Meyer

Michael Meyer, NASA's Chief Scientist for the Mars Exploration Program, talks about his life and work in science. As a teenager working as a deckhand on a treasure diving boat in Florida, he was hired to replace some fired divers...

"I think that those personal relationships… really make the science stronger."

If you are curious to learn more about the bonding and friendships that develop while at sea, listen no further than this conversation with Allyson Tessin and Ashley Burkett, two scientists that sailed on Expedition 392 (Agulhas Plateau Cretaceous Climate,...

Celebrating longevity with birthday noodle soup

What is it like to celebrate your birthday on a scientific research vessel in the middle of the ocean? Yi Wang describes her birthday celebration while on board JOIDES Resolution for Expedition 390, combining community and culture in a COVID-safe...

Mickey Weiss – Founder of Project Oceanology talks about its 50th Anniversary

Mickey Weiss is now in his 80's and 50 years ago founded Project Oceanology in Connecticut to help stimulate students and adults about citizen science and the natural world around them, specifically the oceans. In this interview Mickey talks about...

"What do you do on the ship if you have a food allergy?"

During a ship-to-shore broadcast with a fourth-grade class, one young student asked about having a food allergy on JOIDES Resolution. Two Onboard Outreach Officers, Laura Guertin (EXP 390) and Tessa Peixoto (EXP 393) sat down to discuss their food allergies...