Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Ocean Interactions
Ocean and Atmosphere connecting Scientists, Teachers & Students

Science at Sea ~ Scientists

Brenda Mulac

"I've had an interest in science since I was a kid. My dad is an engineer and scientist, so science was a major topic of conversation in my household while I was growing up. I think all areas of science are really interesting, and as a kid I was always breaking rocks to see what they looked like inside or catching insects of all sorts and keeping them in jars (much to my mother's dismay...). I eventually became more focused on engineering (my dad was a big influence) as a career path and entered Michigan Technological University in 1991 to earn a bachelor's degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Because I am interested in a lot of different science areas, metallurgy and materials science seemed like the way to go as it is a fascinating combination of physics and chemistry, and all industries in one way or another use materials and metals. I went on to work on a PhD in metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines, where I got as far as my MS degree. I was studying defects that occur while welding different types of metals. It was fun and interesting, as I got spend time in the lab playing with welding equipment and stuff, but after a while, I began to loose interest in metallurgy as a career path. I ultimately quit the School of Mines and joined the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado to pursue a PhD there. I have since found the closest thing to a "passion" yet, in my studies of our atmosphere and how it interacts with the ocean and land to drive our climate. My studies have allowed me to spend time above the Arctic Circle in Barrow, Alaska, where I have helped deploy unmanned aviation vehicles (UAVs) carrying different instruments that measure basic weather variables as well as photograph the ice and measure sea surface temperature. I have also had the opportunity to spend time in the field studying hurricanes, and now am participating with this NOAA cruise. Our weather and climate are very dynamic systems and are undergoing constant change, and I'm very excited to be a member of the atmospheric and ocean science community."

Jeff Hare

Jeff Hare is a research meteorologist, is employed by the University of Colorado, and works in the NOAA Environmental Technology Lab in Boulder Colorado. Originally from southeastern Ohio, Jeff holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master's degree and PhD in meteorology from Penn State University.

His research interests are in air-sea interaction, including small-scale turbulent heat exchange between the atmosphere and ocean, climate variability over the ocean, and exchange of greenhouse gases between the air and sea. This research has taken him to many places all over the world, and the measurement campaigns are conducted primarily from research ships.

His outside interests include playing the saxophone, U.S. history, world history and cultures, hiking, and biking.