A group of BIOS researchers and educators had the opportunity to share their marine science knowledge and experience with nearly 10,000 young people around the world this fall, all without ever stepping foot off Bermuda.

Registration opened Oct. 1 for middle school team participation in the popular Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Challenge, sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) program. This year’s program, hosted by BIOS, will become a regional partner with the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center (MATE), which challenges students to apply physics, math, electronics, and engineering lessons to the marine environment.

BIOS’s Risk Prediction Initiative (RPI) is undertaking new research focused on hurricane risk specific to Bermuda, in addition to its traditional focus on global catastrophic risk.

A molecular facility will enhance sample processing for researchers and experiential learning for students

Outside many homes on Bermuda, curious-looking bottles hang from porches. These are shark oil barometers, homemade devices that for nearly 300 years have been used by islanders who swear that the oil can predict the severity of approaching storms and hurricanes.

Since 2013, BIOS has hosted marine planning coordinator Kevin Mayall, who has assisted the Government of Bermuda with its investigation of marine planning policy options. The approach is the first of its kind for the island, and involves a multi-year process of working collaboratively with government departments, ocean stakeholders, local and overseas scientists, commercial interests, conservation groups, and the general public to look at ways to create a plan for maintaining a healthy and productive relationship between Bermuda and the marine environment.

Chloe Emerson initially came to BIOS in the fall of 2014 for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) internship program funded by the National Science Foundation.  As a Wellesley College senior working to complete her major in Biology and minor in Philosophy, Emerson already found developmental biology and stem cell research fascinating. At BIOS, these interests crystalized as she began to study sea urchins in Andrea Bodnar’s Molecular Discovery Laboratory, leading her down a path in regenerative biology that she hardly could have imagined two years ago.

To maintain the unparalleled 27-year record of natural ocean processes and human-induced change at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site, four BIOS research technicians work to collect monthly measurements at sea, process samples in the lab, and analyze incoming data.  Over the past year, each of them has also gone beyond their basic duties with research forays into the time-series dataset.  This month, the four traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to present their results at the 2016 Ocean Sciences Meeting.

Every summer, an international group of educators spend six days at BIOS experiencing life at a dynamic marine research station and exploring new ways to share science with their own students. The interdisciplinary workshop topics range from cutting-edge underwater robotics, to scientific exploration past and present, to how we can protect rare and threatened species and habitats.  All workshop activities are keyed to and supported by Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core objectives. And yes, there is also coral reef snorkeling, cave swimming, and time to experience the charming UNESCO World Heritage Site of neighboring St. George’s.

Like to snorkel? Interested in supporting emerging marine engineers? Volunteers from BIOS and the Bermuda community are needed to assist on Saturday, April 30th as 33 teams of middle school students test their mission-tasked Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) during an island-wide robotics challenge.