People
Matthew OliverDistinguished Professor, Patricia and Charles Robertson Professor of Marine Science and Policy
Matt started at the University of Delaware in January 2008 after a Post-Doc at Rutgers University. Matt is interested in ocean observing, ocean biogeography, polar ecosystems, coastal ecosystems, remote sensing, phytoplankton, bioluminescence and evolution. Matt was inspired to be a scientist at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, CA. He started his college career at Cerritos College in Norwalk CA, and finished his B.S. and M.S. in Biology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Matt went on to a Ph.D. at Rutgers University in Oceanography.
Matt oversees the Ocean Exploration, Remote Sensing and Biogeography Laboratory (ORB Lab) at the University of Delaware. He is also one of the inaugural members of the Robotic Discovery Laboratories, which opened in August 2014.
Current Lab Members
Caroline Wiernicki
Marine Biosciences, Ph.D Student
Caroline joined the ORB Lab in Spring 2021 after working as a Knauss Fellow in Naval Meteorology and Oceanography. She is interested in evaluating how pelagic sharks can serve as ocean observing platforms using CTD tags, to increase data collection and ultimately improve hurricane prediction modeling in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. She received her M.S. (Marine Estuarine Environmental Science) from the University of Maryland in 2019, and her B.S. (Environmental Science) and B.A. (English) from Duke University in 2016.
Jérôme Pinti
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Jérôme Pinti is a marine ecologist. His main research interests are movement ecology, behavioral ecology and predator-prey interactions. At the ORB lab at the University of Delaware, his main project aims to investigate the environmental selection of marine predators (for both Eulerian and Lagrangian variables), and to resolve how our understanding of environmental selection changes as the spatio-temporal scale at which we observe and record processes vary. He is also involved in a variety of other projects, including glider missions, a project aiming to increasing the efficiency of geolocating algorithms for archival satellite tags, and projects related to the zooplankton and the biological carbon pump.
Past Members
Grant Voirol
Oceanography, M.S. 2022
Grant joined the ORB lab in the Fall of 2020 and is currently interested in characterizing the environmental parameters that drive marine animal behavior and community composition. He graduated from University of Miami in 2019 with a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology and Minors in Computer Science and Chemistry. Grant is now a Knauss Fellow in Washington DC.
Stephanie Zmina
Oceanography, M.S. 2022
Stephanie joined the ORB Lab in Fall 2019 and is currently interested in how biodiversity of seascapes affects the value of countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones. She graduated from Wittenberg University in 2012 with a BS in Biology and a minor in Marine Science, and worked in Case Western Reserve University as a microbiology research assistant/lab manager before moving on to the University of Delaware.
Robert Roose
Oceanography, M.S. 2021
Robert joined the ORB lab in Fall 2019 and is interested in the sociality, residency, and migratory patterns of Atlantic Sturgeon and Sand Tiger Sharks, in and around the Delaware Bay. He graduated from Wayne State University in 2019 with a BS in Environmental Science and a minor in Geology. He previously worked as a research assistant in Wayne State’s Aquatic Eco-toxicology lab and as a field technician for Trout Unlimited. Robert is now a fisheries research scientist for the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians.
Harrison Smith
Oceanography, M.S. 2021
Harrison came to the lab in August 2018 after completing his B.S. in Applied Physics from Rutgers University in January 2018. His research involves developing an empirical, regionally tuned satellite chlorophyll algorithm for the US East Coast using autonomous underwater vehicles. Harrison now works for the Ocean Color Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Silver Spring, MD.
Katherine Hudson
Oceanography, Ph.D. 2021
Katie came to the lab in June 2017 after completing her B.S. in marine biology at Northeastern University in May 2017. She is interested in how physical phenomena impact biogeography and ecology of ecosystems across the world. Her research focuses on the physical processes are driving biological hotspots in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Dr. Hudson is now an NSF OPP Post-Doctoral Researcher at Stony Brook University in NY.
Cordie Goodrich
Oceanography, M.S. 2018
Cordie came to the lab in 2015 after earning a B.A. in Mathematics from Washington College. She is interested in the use of mathematical biology, remote sensing, and autonomous underwater vehicles to improve understanding of the marine environment. Cordie then worked as a glider researcher at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). Cordie is currently working at Teledyne Webb as an applications engineer.
Joe Gradone
Oceanography, M.S. 2018
Joe came to the lab in 2016 after earning a B.A. Geology from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is interested in studying biogeochemical dynamics and climate change through the use of remote sensing and autonomous underwater vehicles. Joe is currently working at Teledyne Webb as an applications engineer on the Slocum gliders. He is now in a PhD at Rutgers University.
Danielle Haulsee
Oceanography, Ph.D. 2017
Danielle came to the lab in June 2010 after earning a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Gettysburg College. She is interested in remote sensing of the ocean and biogeography of marine species. Using satellite imagery, she is characterizing shark habitats in the Atlantic Ocean. By combining shark locations with ocean surface characteristics as measured by satellites, she aims to better understand the environments sharks inhabit. Danielle then did a postdoctoral research fellow in the Crowder Lab at Hopkins Marine Laboratory, where she now studied the movement of billfish off the coast of Costa Rica. Dr. Haulsee is now at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute as Chief Science Officer.
Matt Breece
Oceanography, Ph.D. 2017
Matt came to the lab in February 2012 after earning his M.S. in Natural Resources from Delaware State University. Matt is interested is studying the distributions of Atlantic Sturgeon and modeling their distributions. He aims to develop environmentally driven distribution models to understand the past and future of this endangered species. Matt is now a research faculty at University of Delaware.
Megan Cimino
Oceanography, Ph.D. 2016
Megan came to the lab in July 2010 after earning a B.S. in Marine Biology from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Megan is interested in studying climate change and trophic interactions through remote sensing. Her thesis involves studying the marine habitat structure of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic penguins from satellite platforms. She aims to characterize penguin breeding habitats and understand the effects of a changing environment on the distribution of different penguin colonies in the past, present and future. Megan is now a biological oceanographer at University of California Santa Cruz/NOAA Fisheries. She is also one of the PIs on the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program, focusing on penguins.
Erick Geiger
Oceanography, M.S., 2011
Erick came to the lab in June 2009 after earning a B.S. in Geology from Rutgers University. Erick is interested in remote sensing of the marine environment. Based on the characteristics of the ocean’s surface, Erick was able to develop a model that predicts coastal salinity. This model will allow researchers to be able to look at salinity dynamically over time, instead of relying on more general climatologies. Erick works for the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). He also works on the NOAA Coral Reef Watch.
Matthew Grossi
Oceanography, M.S., 2010
In July 2008, Matt joined the lab after earning his B.S. in Oceanography from Florida Institute of Technology. Matt is particularly interested in ocean-atmosphere interactions and the implications of climate change on the ocean-atmosphere system. He has worked to develop models that predict the vertical density structure of the ocean based on remotely-sensed sea surface and atmospheric parameters, such as ocean color and surface wind speed. These models provide greater depth to the two-dimensional view provided by satellites and can offer new insights into a changing vertical density structure over time. Matt is received his PhD at the University of Miami, and now works for NOAA.
Alexander R. Davies
Physical Ocean Science and Engineering, M.S. 2015
Alex came to the lab in January 2013, while also working in the Air Sea Interaction Lab. In 2010 he earned a B.S. in Meteorology and a B.S. in Ocean Sciences and Coastal Studies with a concentration in Physical Oceanography from Millersville University. Alex worked on analyzing the geospatial distribution of primary production and its’ dependence on upper ocean stability parameters, with a focus on the Southern Ocean. For more information about Alex, check out his website. Alex is currently a faculty member at the US Navel Academy in Annapolis.
Douglas White
Research Associate IV
Doug is a research associate with an interest in data and data systems. He heads up the Ocean Information Center and has been prototyping and developing information systems to assist with the collection, location and dissemination of research data for global projects such as the World Ocean Circulation Data and Information Unit (WOCEDIU), the Global Observing Systems Information Center (GOSIC) and the International Research Vessels Schedules & Information project. He assists with maintaining and operating the lab’s Slocum Electric Glider and back-end information systems. [Profile Page]
Interns
Elspeth Gates (2018 – 2020)
Seth Graves (2018-2019)
Luke Frankel (2017)
Harrison Smith (2017)
Kelly McBride (2014)
Anastasia Procaccini (2014)
Danielle Ferraro (2013)
Eadoh Reshef (2013)
Cara Simpson (2012)
Lauren Wiesebron (2010)