Edie Widder received her Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1982. She joined Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in 1989 where she is now senior scientist and director of the Bioluminescence Department. She also holds adjunct appointments at Johns Hopkins University, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Florida Atlantic University and Florida Institute of Technology.
Her research interests in bioluminescence developed out of her experience piloting the single-person submersibles Wasp and Deep Rover. In 1984, working from Deep Rover, she made the first video recordings of bioluminescence in the ocean and has been striving to accurately quantify the phenomenon ever since.
The Deep Rover enterprise has involved the development of a number of instrument systems, including the HIDEX-BP on which she co-holds the patent and which is now the standard in the U.S. Navy for measuring bioluminescence in the world's oceans.
Check out what Dr. Widder had to say.
Q: What did you learn or find on the mission?
A: We got the Eye-in-the-Sea working, despite the fact that the whole project was done on a shoe-string budget. Now we have proof-of-concept, so my goal it to go to the funding agencies and try to convince them to fund the development of more of these systems that can sit on the bottom and float in the midwater and observe unobtrusively.
Q: What will you seek to find on future expeditions?
A: Although I'm primarily a midwater biologist I'm very curious about the very strange forms of luminescent animals that are found on or near the bottom. It's fascinating how many animals that live near the bottom, but below the reach of sunlight have very large eyes. All the evidence seems to indicate that bioluminescence plays a very big role in epi-benthic communities but we have no idea what this is. I'm hoping that the Eye-in-the-Sea may reveal some of these secrets.
Q: What do you find most rewarding and also most difficult in your line of work?
A: It's the same answer to both questions. Exploring the depths of the ocean. It's a very forbidding environment that is extremely inhospitable to both man and machines but there are fantastic discoveries to be made.
Q: What advice would you give to someone embarking on a career in science?
A: I always council students to diversify their training. Don't just take marine science classes. Specialize in some other area such as chemistry, physics, or engineering and then bring those strengths and new ideas to your studies in marine science. I also tell them to take lots of math classes - they usually hate hearing that but math is the foundation on which good science is built.
