MBARI opens opportunities for the next generation of ocean explorers

For nearly three decades, MBARI has been launching the next generation of ocean explorers whose curiosity and creativity are shaping the future of ocean discovery.

Why It Matters

With the ocean at a critical crossroads, we urgently need to grow the community of ocean explorers. MBARI programs support early-career scientists, engineers, communicators, and other specialists who are developing innovative solutions to science, technology, and conservation challenges.

At MBARI, we believe discovery begins with opportunity—the kind that changes lives and careers. Through our immersive internship and postdoctoral programs, MBARI is cultivating a global network of scientists and engineers who are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in marine research and technology.

Every year, we welcome new interns and postdoctoral fellows from around the globe to work side-by-side with MBARI’s world-class scientists and engineers. Here, they design instruments, analyze deep-sea video, program robots, explore ocean ecosystems, and much more. In return, MBARI offers what few other places can: mentorship, encouragement to think big, and the tools to bring bold ideas to life.

“We don’t hold their hands,” said Senior Education and Research Specialist George Matsumoto, who has been involved in MBARI’s internship and postdoctoral programs since their inception. “We give our interns and postdoctoral fellows space, support, and high expectations—and they rise to it.”

Immersive, hands-on, and transformative internships

Launched in 1996, MBARI’s Summer Internship Program is more than a traditional research experience. Open to undergraduate, graduate, and early-career professionals—including international candidates and educators—the program is designed to meet people wherever they are on their career journey.

An intern prepares computer code. The intern has short black hair and is wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and a gray-and-blue checkered jacket. He is seated at a gray desk with a silver metal laptop computer and a large monitor displaying computer code. In the background are the gray walls of an office cubicle. — MBARI’s summer interns are immersed in projects and the daily operations of a research institute, gaining valuable experience that helps steer their careers or future education. Image: Calista Kerba © 2025 MBARI

From marine biology and robotics to data science and communications, interns are paired with mentors across disciplines and gain real experience contributing to MBARI projects. Weekly workshops on professional development, applying for graduate school, networking with other interns and professionals, and navigating career pathways complement hands-on learning in the lab and at sea with their mentors.

For many, those 10 weeks become a turning point. While there are no guarantees, some interns return to MBARI as collaborators, postdocs, or even staff, joining a growing alumni network that spans the ocean science community.

“Because I was an intern, I understood how transformative it could be,” said Megan Bassett, now a research technician in MBARI’s Video Lab who co-leads the intern program. “We aren’t training people for one outcome. We’re helping them find their path, whether that’s research, science communication, or something they hadn’t even imagined before.”

Mentorship in action

MBARI scientists, engineers, communications staff, and marine operations crew are driven by a curiosity to learn more about the ocean and a passion to protect its future. MBARI’s mentoring philosophy is simple: invest in people, not just projects.

Two engineers and an ROV pilot watch video and mapping data displayed on a bank of video monitors in the dark control room of a research ship. The engineer on the left is seated, the engineer in the center is standing, and the ROV pilot is seated in the foreground with his right hand on a joystick. — Summer interns and postdoctoral fellows work closely with their mentors to tackle bold and ambitious research projects that are transforming ocean science and engineering. Image: Marike Pinsonneault © 2025 MBARI

Mentors volunteer their time because they believe in the power of passing knowledge forward. The goal is not to create a summer’s worth of data, but rather to equip each intern with the skills and confidence to design, test, and communicate their own ideas.

“A good mentor puts their mentee’s success first,” said Matsumoto. “It’s not about getting a paper out. It’s about helping them learn how to ask the right questions.”

This year, Bassett and Recruitment Specialist Jessica Chapman piloted a new mentoring initiative that builds on the success of the Summer Internship Program to foster peer relationships across the institute’s full-time staff. The new MBuddy program pairs new hires with long-term staff to build a culture of continuous learning.

“Even people who’ve mentored for decades can learn something new,” said Bassett. “We’re creating an environment where mentoring is part of everyone’s job description.”

Postdoctoral fellowships: freedom to explore

If the internship program is an introduction to MBARI’s interdisciplinary approach to ocean exploration, the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is an invitation to lead within it.

Unlike many postdoctoral programs, MBARI postdoctoral fellows are not tied to a single lab. They are encouraged to pursue independent research while collaborating across disciplines—biologists with engineers, data scientists with chemists, technologists with ecologists.

MBARI’s postdoctoral fellowships last for two years and span a range of disciplines. For example, among our 10 current postdocs, Olivia Soares Pereira is studying the community of organisms that feed on decomposing wood that falls to the deep seafloor. Giovanni Testa is investigating how different physical processes influence phytoplankton biodiversity in the Galápagos Islands. Lee Miller is exploring how the microbes in the guts of deep-sea animals transform and transport carbon. And Mauro Candeloro is developing algorithms to improve mapping surveys over complex seafloor terrain.

A researcher collects water samples from a scientific instrument aboard the deck of a research ship. The researcher is wearing a blue hard hat, a yellow patterned headband, black sunglasses, a dark sweatshirt, teal waders, an orange life vest, black boots, and bright purple rubber globes. She is kneeling on the gray metal deck of the ship, securing translucent plastic bottles from the circular metal frame of a sediment trap. In the background are various maritime equipment with gray clouds and bright sun on the horizon. — Amanda Kahn’s experience as an MBARI intern and then postdoctoral fellow inspired her to pursue a career as a professor at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, where she teaches students about invertebrate ecology. Image: Susan von Thun © 2019 MBARI

“At MBARI, you can do anything you can dream up,” said Amanda Kahn, a former MBARI intern and postdoc and now a professor at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. “If you want to measure oxygen in the deep sea, you can walk down the hall and find an expert who can help you design the instrument to do it.”

MBARI postdocs form a strong bond with one another. “At MBARI, the postdocs really support one another, bouncing off research ideas and sharing career opportunities,” explained Kahn, noting that traditionally, postdoctoral fellowships are notoriously lonely. “MBARI’s postdoc program enables you to build a network of people with a shared background you can call on throughout your career.”

Kahn’s marine science career path embodies the program’s ripple effect. “So many of us who study the deep sea passed through MBARI at one point or another,” she said. “The access, the collaboration, the mentoring—it’s unparalleled.”

A community that pays it forward

Two engineers talk to an aquarium visitor in front of a table outdoors in front of a building entrance. The engineer on the right is wearing a gray cap, a gray vest, and a blue sweatshirt. The engineer on the right is wearing a blue cap, navy blue polo shirt, and blue jeans. The visitor is wearing a black-and-blue jacket. The table has a banner that reads FathomNet with several scientific posters. In the background is the entrance to a public aquarium with a sliding glass door and frosted white windows. — After his summer internship, Kevin Barnard joined MBARI as a software engineer, developing advanced AI tools to share with collaborators in the FathomNet Program to accelerate the discovery of marine life. Image: Lilli Carlsen © 2024 MBARI

At MBARI, the mentoring doesn’t stop when the internship or fellowship ends. Former interns like Kevin Barnard, now a software engineer at MBARI who works on the FathomNet Program, VARS, and other data-driven projects, are helping guide the next generation of up-and-coming marine researchers.

“At MBARI, you learn to think about who you’re writing code for—a scientist, an engineer, a communicator,” said Barnard. “That mindset makes you a better collaborator and a better mentor.”

Barnard, who grew up visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, never imagined he could merge his love of robotics with ocean conservation. “It’s amazing to see high school students I mentor get excited about ocean robotics the same way I did here,” he said.

Building a culture of learning

Every summer, MBARI’s halls and labs buzz with the energy of interns, postdocs, and mentors. Weekly seminars, field trips, barbecues, and collaborative projects infuse new perspectives across the organization. The experience doesn’t just shape early-career professionals; it reinvigorates MBARI’s staff.

Four engineers watch live feeds of video and data in the control room aboard a research ship. The two engineers in the foreground are watching video monitors out of frame to the left. The two engineers in the background are standing next to a counter with computer monitors with a keyboard and a computer mouse. The frame is illuminated by red light. — MBARI researchers with academic affiliations often host graduate students for hands-on learning in marine science and engineering. Image: Marike Pinsonneault © 2025 MBARI

“Summer is this energizing time,” said Bassett. “The interns remind us how special this place is. Their excitement puts our work in perspective.”

That vitality has become an integral part of MBARI’s identity: a place where curiosity is contagious and learning never stops.

MBARI scientists often maintain strong academic ties with universities in California and beyond, sharing MBARI’s research and technology with graduate students through classroom teaching and hands-on experience year-round. For example, Senior Scientist Steven Haddock hosts University of California, Santa Cruz graduate researchers studying comb jellies, while Principal Engineer Giancarlo Troni mentors master’s students from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in the CoMPAS Lab, where they develop low-cost seafloor mapping tools.

A rich history of mentorship and discovery guides the future

Next year, MBARI will celebrate 30 years of its Summer Internship Program, a milestone that represents more than numbers. More than 440 interns and 130 postdocs have come through our doors, contributing to countless discoveries, tech innovations, and research publications. Many now lead research programs, teach the next generation, and continue to collaborate with MBARI scientists.

“Now more than ever, the ocean needs explorers to understand the rising tide of threats to marine life, ecosystems, and resources,” said Matsumoto. “MBARI interns, fellows, and other early-career staff bring fresh perspectives that contribute to innovative solutions to urgent conservation challenges.”

A communications fellow takes a photo of a technician working on a scientific instrument. The communications fellow has long blonde hair and is wearing a white hard hat, brown sweater, orange life vest, blue jeans, and white sneakers. She is standing on the left side of the frame next to a large pool of water holding a camera. The technician is on the right side of the frame, wearing a gray hard hat and green workshirt. He is standing on a ladder while adjusting components on a large orange scientific imaging system. In the background are white walls, offices, and a high bay with a yellow metal crane and high ceilings with wood beams. — MBARI programs provide the next generation of science communicators with experience creating compelling stories about marine science and technology. Image: Lila Luthy © 2025 MBARI

To accelerate these solutions, MBARI is exploring ways to expand early-career opportunities with exciting new programs.

For the past two years, a pilot apprenticeship program has offered firsthand experience in marine operations, supporting the development, deployment, and maintenance of MBARI’s ocean observing technologies.

On the communications side, MBARI is focused on ensuring early-career marine scientists have the storytelling skills they need to lift up and share their work. Our Science Communication Fellowship and collaboration with the science illustration program at California State University, Monterey Bay, are helping emerging science communicators leverage the power of visuals to immerse audiences in compelling stories.

Join the next wave of ocean exploration

A researcher prepares a scientific specimen sample. The researcher has blonde hair and is wearing a white cap, navy hooded sweatshirt, orange jacket, and bright orange life vest. She is holding a clear glass jar in her left hand and a metal ladle in her right hand, and transferring a specimen from an acrylic cylinder to the jar. In the background are the white walls and wooden shelves of a lab aboard a research ship. — MBARI interns and postdoctoral fellows are helping transform the fields of marine science and engineering. Image: Colleen Durkin © 2025 MBARI

At MBARI, every internship, fellowship, and mentoring connection adds to a legacy of discovery that spans generations. The curiosity that drives our ocean research also drives our commitment to cultivating new talent, ensuring that the next great breakthroughs begin with opportunity.

“Through all of these programs, MBARI is helping the next generation of marine researchers discover their passions. We’re making a difference in their lives and career paths. Our interns and postdocs take skills they’ve learned here to the wider ocean exploration community, creating a wave of change for ocean science and conservation,” Matsumoto reflected. “That’s what keeps me going.”

Applications for the next internship and postdoctoral fellowship cycles are now open. If you’re ready to explore, innovate, and discover, we invite you to learn more about joining the community where learning is a way of life. Click here for more details.

For additional information or images relating to this article, please email pressroom@mbari.org.

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