Meyer-Kaiser lab

Hurricane Isaias forecast from the National Weather Service. The red area is Destin - Fort Walton Beach, FL. I am supposed to be diving right now.  I packed my rebreather this week, put my wetsuit in a suitcase, made sure I grabbed my fins. But fate would not have it be so. In the year of a Super El Ni ño, when there were supposed to be a lower number of hurricanes in the Atlantic than normal, my trip still got weathered out. There was one hurricane. It made landfall exactly where I was planning to go. Two days before I was supposed to be there.  If the universe is sending a message, it is addressed to me in particular.  I left the rebreather at home, delayed my flight by a few days, and then made my way to Destin - Fort Walton Beach, Florida. We may not be diving this week - I'm told the visibility offshore is so bad, you can't see your own hands underwater - but there are still plenty of reasons for me to be here.  Ladies and gentlemen, the SS United States is goi...

Any comic book or graphic novel fans out there? This post is for you!  A while ago, I was contacted by an MIT professor teaching a class: CMS 306 Making Comics and Sequential Art. In that class, students learn to draw and narrate stories using sequential panels, much like a comic book. A classic assignment is for students to team up with a scientist and tell the story of their research.  Now, I love a good science-art collaboration. I see metaphors for research in modern art museums, and I find my scientific experiences reflected in music , dance , and drawing . When I saw the professor's email, I jumped enthusiastically on board.  There were actually two teams of students who chose my work. One created a comic about larval dispersal to shipwrecks, and the other team focused on how shipwreck materials impact recruitment. The recruitment team used a resurrected ship captain as their narrator, which was a really cool twist! The final, colorized version of their comic appe...

Co-hosts Kharis Schrage and Jane Weinstock introducing the  Larval Biology Symposium in Woods Hole.  When I walked into the auditorium, I immediately spotted a familiar face. Then another. Then another. The room was full of researchers I knew and admired. I could hardly decide who to greet first.  Every good scientific conference feels like a family reunion , and the Larval Biology Symposium was the best reunion of them all. A Larval Biology Symposium had not been organized for four years. In fact, the society behind it had largely gone dormant, to the detriment of research collaborations worldwide. Two WHOI graduate students - including my former student, Kharis - decided to resurrect the conference, hosting the first reincarnation right here in Woods Hole. There was extreme enthusiasm across the marine research community, and this year's Larval Biology Symposium attracted about 100 researchers from across North America, Europe, and Asia.  The scientific presentatio...

Friends, one of the most gratifying parts of my job is cheering on my colleagues as they accomplish great things. Over the past few weeks, I have had two opportunities to do that.  The archaeologist on my team, Calvin Mires, was selected as the National Lecturer for 2026 by the Archaeological Institute of America. It's a huge honor. Only one individual is selected each year, and that person is invited to deliver seminars at AIA chapters across the country. Calvin traveled to the College of William and Mary for his first address, which took place just two weeks ago. It was a resounding success. Calvin reported that the lecture hall was so fall, late arrivals were left to stand in the aisles. A grateful audience member even gifted Calvin a few books.  I am excited for Calvin, not just for the honor he clearly deserves, but for the opportunity that his speaking tour represents. He is developing a reputation for excellence in the archaeological community. Every time he shares his...