Michelle Edwards

What is your job on the ship? Geophysicist (crustal hydrogeology). On shore - business consultant (help small businesses grow)

How long have you been doing this?25 years.

What is your favorite part of what you do?
New discoveries and increased understanding of the physical world around me while on a research cruise.

What is the least favorite part of your work? If there is not a favorite part, then I am doing the wrong thing. I love every part of what I do, but some parts are more physically exhausing, others more mentally exhausting.

How/why did you get into this field?
To answer the questions how big is big? How small is small? How are they connected? Why are they there?

What are your career goals?
After all of these years, it is simply to live my dreams (without regard to the consequences) and to avoid a sense of security. Security strangles excitment, adventure, and risk, all of which are necessary ingredients of life.

What is the biggest misconception about what you do?
That logs and logging refer to trees & forests, when in fact they refer to data collection and display.

What is the most important skill/trait that you rely on?
Mentally - mathematics and desire. Physically - stamina and perseverance.

What is your most memorable experience from your career?
There are too many to list , but some are : 1) being in a helicopter in 100 mph winds of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico 2) a dive in Alvin to 4500 m along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 3) sunrises/sets in the middle of the ocean and Sahara desert 4) better understanding of plate tectonics through leaps of insight.

Tell us something about yourself.
Pets: Any pet of mine would starve to death because I am never home.

My Home: After living in over 15 countries, the world has become my home. The excitement of change, meeting new people, experiencing new social mores, new languages and ways of thinking preclude considering any one place as home.

Hobbies: snow skiing, cave diving, swimming, computers, building dive lights and other thingies.