Arun Durvasula: Light in Da Ocean

In the TED talk that I chose, Edith Widder talked about bioluminescence and the new discoveries in technology that allow scientists to study it better. Edith Widder is an oceanographer, marine biologist, and the Co-founder, CEO and Senior Scientist at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association. She graduated from Tufts University with a BS in Biology and from UCSB with an MS in Biochemisty and from UCSB again for a PhD in Neurobiology. One thing that Dr. Widder talks about in her video, and something that I am very interested in is her device called Eye In The Sea. It is a remotely operated camera that can dive to extremely deep depths and film ocean life without disturbing it. She has already found dozens of new species, some of which cannot even be categorized with it.

In 2005, Dr. Widder co- founded the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of marine ecosystems and the species they sustain through development of innovative technologies and science-based conservation action. Dr. Widder was also awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006 for her work in the ocean.

I chose Dr. Widder's talk because I have always been fascinated by bioluminescence and with the ocean life in general. When I was younger, my favorite fish in the aquariums were the ones that created light and bioluminesed. I always knew that I wanted to do work in the future relating to it. I think that part of Dr. Widder's success is due to her innovations in the field. She was able to think of and then create a camera that is now used by the US Navy. She also persevered when no one else really cared about this innovation and she got funding because she took initiative and created a proof of concept on her own.

This fall I am going to attend University of California, Davis and I hope to pursue a degree in Biology. I can also try to get a job at the Monterey Bay Aquarium next summer so that I can be around fish and researchers and understand what they do. I can also spend time in the Biology labs at Davis and get to know the researchers and their research before going to graduate school. In graduate school, I can study any number of biology related things, such as plant biology, biochemistry, or oceanography. Then, depending on where my research takes me, I can continue my education into the PhD level or I can work at a job that allows me to use my research skills to benefit more people. Or, if I decide after a few years of work that I don't want to spend my life researching, I can return to school for an MBA and work in a biotechnology company that allows me to still work with and in a field I love, but also lets me branch out and discover new opportunities. I would be able to market the research I or others have completed and create a pool of money that can be used to fund more research so that we can all learn more about the world we live in.