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for those just learning about science by participating in undergraduate research to those honing their skills at the postdoctoral level. I watch with great pride as my graduate students and postdocs enthusiastically mentor newer peers. Learning goes both ways because I learn so much from my students as they mature into independent scientists and become experts in their chosen topics.
Describe your career path.
In thinking about the ingredients that went into my career, three have contributed more than anything else: (1) working with excellent mentors, (2) relationships, and (3) saying yes to unexpected opportunities.
I was first introduced to acoustics as an undergraduate at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) when I volunteered in a primate cognition lab as a research assistant. I worked with rhesus macaque vocalizations and through this work dipped my toe into signal processing when I was asked to test a beta version of an analysis software called SIGNAL. On graduation, I wanted to pursue my interest in marine mammal biology, and the combination of acoustics, behavior, and communication led me to accept a guest student posi- tion at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI; Woods Hole, MA) with Dr. Peter Tyack. I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit to an advanced degree, so this was an opportunity to see if research was right for me. The challenge was that the guest student position was unpaid. So by day, I worked in the lab, and by night, I waited tables and took on seasonal jobs. The relationships that I formed that year at WHOI were the catalysts that activated a chain reaction domino effect that evolved into my career, the most significant of which was meeting the man who would become my husband.
While at WHOI, I met two postdocs, Drs. John Buck and Richard Connor, who went on to become my MS coadvi- sors at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth). From there, I was introduced to my future PhD coadvisors, Drs. James Miller and Percy Donaghay, at the Uni- versity of Rhode Island (Narragansett Bay Campus). These wonderful advisors supported interdisciplinary research that allowed me to explore the combination of biology and acous- tics by customizing my academic programs to include biology, oceanography, and the fundamentals of acoustics.
In 2003, Dr. Miller asked me to take notes during a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) workshop
on underwater sound. It was there that I met my future super- visor from The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State; University Park), Dr. David Bradley. Four years later, at the end of my postdoc, again at UMass Dartmouth, I received an invitation from Dr. Bradley asking me to interview at Penn State. During my visit, I fell in love with the people and spent a wonderful decade there as a soft-money research scientist. The relationships that I developed at Penn State led me to the University of New Hampshire (UNH), where I am now. The overwhelming support from the UNH and New Hampshire state congressional leadership provided me with the resources to advance to the next step of my career. I was able to grow from single PI projects to management of a large multinational, multiinstitutional program called the Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network (ADEON), with support from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA, and Office of Naval Research (ONR) through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP). I was also provided the opportunity and resources to build the UNH Center for Acoustics Research and Education (CARE).
What is a typical day for you?
Thinking hard about it, the only thing that is typical about my days is morning tea with my next-door officemate, Dr. Anthony Lyons. Other than that, each day holds its own surprises. When I’m in the office, my time is spent divided among data analysis, writing journal articles or proposals, interacting with students, managing research teams on larger projects, and now working to build CARE. The order and priority of the tasks is ever-changing depending on urgency, deadlines, and the unexpected fires that pop up. Most days I’m just trying to keep all the balls I’m juggling in the air. When I’m not in the office, I am typically engrossed in field- work, attending conferences or workshops, and representing the university on national and international panels or com- mittees. On travel, the work doesn’t stop, and it is often a struggle to keep up with the daily demands back at the office.
How do you feel when experiments/projects do not work out the way you expected them to?
Any science endeavor that involves fieldwork or animals often does not work out exactly as you plan. I learned that early in my career during my MS work when one of my two captive bottlenose dolphin subjects at Mystic Aquarium (Mystic, CT) passed away at the very end of the experiment. There are always circumstances beyond our control or ability to plan for. Disappointment is the first feeling that comes to mind as
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