Chief Scientist
On this cruise Dr. Janet Voight is the chief scientist. The National Science Foundation awarded her grant proposal the ship and the submersible time, a considerable investment. Janet’s research focuses on documenting the fauna at the various dive areas and testing the hypothesis that the animals at the most northern site differ from those at the south. Differences may be fairly subtle, but could provide insight into dispersal of the EPR fauna.
Before the cruise sets sail, the chief scientist is responsible for assembling the science party, identifying the dive targets, planning the cruise, making sure everything that is needed has been loaded on the ship before departure, establishing a plan to collect data with the ship at night when ALVIN has to be on deck, and assigning berths and lab spaces to members of the science party. During the cruise the chief scientist will attend to the science party's research needs, trouble-shoot, plan every dive for maximum efficiency, and confer with the Expedition leader (chief of the ALVIN group) and the ship's master about all operations. At the end of the cruise the chief scientist will be responsible for writing the cruise report, sorting the specimens, and producing a web page with images of the animals that were found and documented.
