IRSC Photonics/Robotics Institute student Cynthia Cintron
Indian River State College Interns Work with HBOI's OVOL on IRL Laser Project
Hundreds of thousands of fish floated belly-up in the Indian River Lagoon in April, one of the worst fish kills ever on Florida's East Coast. The environmental blight was caused by pollutants increasing the growth of algae and blocking out light. With less light, there's less photosynthesis, causing oxygen depletion that harms corals, fish and other marine life.
Students in the Indian River State College Photonics/Robotics Institute are helping to shed some light on the issue through a NOAA-funded Department of Energy project being conducted by FAU Harbor Branch's Ocean Visibility and Optics Laboratory (OVOL). Under the guidance of Dr. Fraser Dalgleish and Brian Ramos, interns Cesar Rodriguez, Cynthia Cintron, and Viviana Kucharski are participating in a project which uses rapidly scanned short pulses of light to detect and classify fish, turtles and marine mammals.
The students are building instruments, conducting test tank and at-sea tests, and will also be piloting oceanographic gliders that will be put out to sea for surveillance of marine life. "I enjoy learning about new technologies," said Vivian Kucharski, who returned to college for a career change. "I know there are jobs in these emerging fields."
Students in the Indian River State College Photonics/Robotics Institute are helping to shed some light on the issue through a NOAA-funded Department of Energy project being conducted by FAU Harbor Branch's Ocean Visibility and Optics Laboratory (OVOL). Under the guidance of Dr. Fraser Dalgleish and Brian Ramos, interns Cesar Rodriguez, Cynthia Cintron, and Viviana Kucharski are participating in a project which uses rapidly scanned short pulses of light to detect and classify fish, turtles and marine mammals.
The students are building instruments, conducting test tank and at-sea tests, and will also be piloting oceanographic gliders that will be put out to sea for surveillance of marine life. "I enjoy learning about new technologies," said Vivian Kucharski, who returned to college for a career change. "I know there are jobs in these emerging fields."
