At MBARI, our “office” is Monterey Bay and its deep submarine canyon. This is our window to the world ocean. Studying our blue backyard is revealing our connection to the ocean—how it sustains us, and how our actions on land may be threatening its future. Our 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.

Science is a team sport—science, engineering, and marine operations staff work together as equal partners to develop innovative technology for ocean exploration. MBARI thrives by bringing together people of different backgrounds and perspectives to tackle problems facing the ocean. Meet some of our research teams and get an insider’s look at their work.

Bioinspiration Lab

Kakani Katija leads MBARI’s Bioinspiration Lab. This group brings the lab to the ocean. They create new high-tech tools to study how animals survive in a deep, cold, and dark environment. The team hopes to help find bioinspired solutions to some of the world’s biggest engineering challenges.

Carbon Flux Ecology Team

Colleen Durkin leads MBARI’s Carbon Flux Ecology Team. This group studies the important role of the ocean in Earth’s carbon cycle and climate. Working with our engineers, they developed cutting-edge cameras and other tools to learn how deep-sea ecosystems transform carbon sinking from the surface.

CoMPAS Lab

Giancarlo Troni leads MBARI’s CoMPAS Lab. This team is developing nimble, scalable tools for ocean exploration. By sharing open-source design specifications and advanced software algorithms with the wider ocean exploration community, they hope to expand access to MBARI’s engineering innovations.

Manufacturing Group

Jose Rosal leads MBARI’s Manufacturing Group. This team works closely with our scientists and engineers to bring their ideas to life as robots and other high-tech instruments. Their diverse set of skills turns raw metals into technology that can withstand the harsh conditions of the deep sea.

Ocean Biogeochemical Sensing Team

Yui Takeshita leads MBARI’s Ocean Biogeochemical Sensing Team. This group develops sensors to better understand the ocean’s changing chemistry. They deploy autonomous robots to measure and monitor these changes and understand how ocean acidification affects ecosystems from the coast to the open sea.

Ocean Observing Team

Jared Figurski leads MBARI’s Ocean Observing Team. This group tests, deploys, and maintains a variety of underwater robots and instruments. He leads a team of scientists and engineers who are using autonomous robots equipped with innovative imaging systems and advanced AI to observe ocean predators.

R/V Rachel Carson Crew

Captain Kavi Treesong-Engel led the crew of MBARI’s research vessel Rachel Carson. This small team plays a big role in MBARI’s work, collaborating with MBARI scientists and engineers to support us as we study our blue backyard. For them, each day brings new faces, goals, and often a new set of challenges.

Video Lab

Nancy Jacobsen Stout leads MBARI’s Video Lab. This team manages the trove of visual data collected by MBARI’s underwater robots, combing through thousands of hours of footage to identify and label everything we observe. Scientists depend on these visual data to unlock the mysteries of the deep.

Interested in joining our team?

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