No matter your major, research opportunities are available.

As a computer science major, I am open to many research opportunities across different disciplines. This semester I decided to take Intro to Ocean Engineering as one of my electives. This allowed me to be a part of a research cruise on the Thunderforce hosted by the Department of Ocean and Environmental Systems. This past St. Patty’s day, we took a research cruise out into the open ocean from Fort Pierce in order to retrieve some data. I was able to learn how to do a plankton tow (a kind of fishing technique to capture plankton specimens) and to learn about cathodic (corrosion of a metal surface) protection of steel ships. It was a great opportunity for me to meet new people and work with them. It was a lot better than sitting in a classroom since I was able to get my hands dirty.  If you have an interest for going out on a research cruise, or perhaps anything to do with ocean engineering you should drop an e-mail to Dr. Stephen Wood

I am also taking oceanography this semester and I know for a fact that we are scheduled to have a cruise sometime this month. I am very excited to go on it after what I had experienced on the Thunderforce. I would encourage everyone to take part in these research opportunities, no matter what major you are in. They are extremely helpful and can be related back to what you are learning in class. It is also good for future use as you can put this on your resume when you apply for a job. Employers like to see that you have hands-on experience.