Charlie Barans entered this world a long time ago, grew up in the Midwest “corn belt” and experienced a brief post-high school stay onboard an aircraft carrier. Fortunately, he was guided away from Forestry as a career early at Ohio State University, where he talked them out of a BS degree. His interest in fish populations and communities intensified through further educational experiences (and more fast talking) at VIMS, for a MA in Marine Fisheries, and back to OSU, for a PhD. An early exposure to the excitement of environmental consulting outside of NY City and drinking Maalox from the bottle before and after staff meetings convinced him to pursue marine fisheries with SCDNR. He and his sparkling wife, Allene, have two wonderful daughters and, presently, are enjoying being “empty nesters.” For over 23 years, he assisted in guiding a dynamic team that developed fishery independent research and assessments for the NMFS’ largest continuous contract (MARMAP) in the southeast. The resulting long-term databases were created with standardized techniques for detection of future changes in species relative abundances and fish assemblages in several important habitats. Also, production scale processing of life history materials was established, and several assessment techniques, including routine use of underwater video were developed. Charlie has always believed that seemingly impossible fisheries research could be completed through team efforts and that positive attitudes among coworkers could be encouraged through camaraderie, encouragement and matching personal skills and interests with a program’s direction. He likes to promote laughter as a step toward group mental health. Presently continuing his long quest for a rapid and remote fishery assessment technique, he has focused on the application of multi-frequency acoustics to studying plankton transport through inlets. Strong belief in collaborative approaches and a wealth of great coworkers have assisted in the formation of interdisciplinary teams including the opportunity to help develop an expanding mentor based project to train minorities in marine and environmental science. Recent crusades include the establishment of marine fisheries reserves as ecosystem management tools and coaxing an underwater TV to send daily images from a reef fish assemblage at mid-shelf to a web site. He can’t believe that people actually read these sketches!

Leslie Sautter received her Ph.D. in geological sciences at the University of South Carolina in 1990. Her recent research focuses on the distribution and ecology of benthic foraminifera within surface sediments of the South Atlantic Bight. She is also examining the rocky outcrops exposed on the deep reef habitats of the shelf edge and Charleston Bump. Leslie became a geology department faculty member at the College of Charleston, SC in 1992, and teaches classes in marine and coastal geology and general marine science to undergraduates, graduate students and K-12 teachers. Her activities are devoted to promoting undergraduate research, and her involvement with developing new methods of teaching marine science to college students and teachers earned her the 2002 National Marine Education Award. With NOAA NOS funding, Sautter recently established Project Oceanica at the College of Charleston, which serves to bring scientific results to a broad audience of users – focusing on college students – through development of web-based research-oriented educational resource products. Leslie participated in both the Islands in the Stream 2001 and 2002 expeditions and will serve again as a shipboard geologist and science education liaison for the Charleston Bump 2003 expedition.

John McDonough received his Master’s degree in environmental science and policy from the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC in 1998, and a B.S. in coastal geomorphology from the University of Maryland in 1989. He has been a physical scientist with NOAA’s National Ocean Service since 1989, where he developed data and geographic information systems related to coastal and marine environments, and applied that information to help prepare management plans for marine protected areas. Most recently, Mr. McDonough has been serving as the project manager for large-scale undersea research expeditions using a variety of tools and techniques including manned and unmanned submersibles. Specific efforts include the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a joint endeavor between NOAA and the National Geographic Society to explore the system of National Marine Sanctuaries managed by NOAA’s National Ocean Service. He is committed to exploring and learning more about natural systems in marine and coastal areas, providing the data and information required for effective ecosystem-based management.

Frank Helies was born and raised at the New Jersey shore, and received a BS in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina in 2002. He has research experience in zooplanktivory by marine invertebrates, particularly brittlestars, light trap modification for the capture of larval freshwater and saltwater fish, and fish otolith increment analysis. His research interests include the age, growth, life history and predation patterns of saltwater fish. He is currently working on the age and growth of larval and juvenile freshwater fish from the Savannah River Site with respect to anthropogenically impacted streams.

Dara Hooker has been the lab technician for the Boundary Layer Stress and Sediment Transport (BLASST) laboratory since May of 2002. Dara has two undergraduate degrees from the University of South Carolina- a B.A. in International Studies and a B.S. in Marine Science. She will start work on her M.S. in Marine Science at USC this fall. This is her first research cruise on the open ocean. Dara will be gathering data using the CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) and the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). She will also be helping with the creation and deployment of the clod cards. Dara is interested in the dynamics of sediment transport, specifically as it relates to the spread of pollutants. She is also interested in the effect of current flow on the physiological characteristics of benthic invertebrates which makes this the perfect cruise for her.

Connie grew up along the Gulf Coast in Gulfport, Mississippi. Ever since she found her first hermit crab, she has loved the ocean and all the exciting critters that live in it! When scientists on the deep sea submersible Alvin made the first discoveries of organisms in hydrothermal vent communities, Connie and a couple of friends poured over the pictures in National Geographic in complete amazement. And now she is getting the opportunity to take part in an expedition using submersibles to explore the Charleston Bump!

Connie graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a B.S. in
Biology. Although Connie loved marine biology, teaching became herprofession because she loves exploring patterns in the natural world with students. Connie also has a Masters in Education from Southern. Connie's been teaching school for nineteen years. Connie's jobs have included teaching biology, physical science, marine camp at the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center, and teaching teachers in Curriculum Leadership Institutes when she worked at the Charleston Math & Science Hub as the Science Specialist. Currently, Connie is the Science Teacher Specialist at Burke High School. Go Bulldogs! She is also an Educational Leadership Partner at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston. In all of her teaching jobs, principles of marine biology and oceanography have been woven into the curriculum and the distinctive adaptations of hydrothermal vent organisms have always been a favorite topic. Connie is looking forward to learning more about the organisms of the Charleston Bump and the physical parameters of this area of the ocean on this cruise!

Jerry McLelland, a native of Mississippi, has worked for 25 years as a marine biologist at USM’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory specializing in invertebrate taxonomy, systematics and ecology with expertise both in the planktonic and benthic environments. His background includes investigations into coastal and marine habitats of the northern Gulf of Mexico, Florida Keys, and several sites in the Caribbean Sea, including the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Tobago. His publication record includes new species descriptions of Polychaeta, Chaetognatha and Cumacea. He is currently working on doctoral research on zoogeography and systematics of deep-water Tanaidacea, micro-crustaceans similar to isopods. Mr. McLelland will assist in collecting plankton and benthic invertebrates and hopes to obtain tanaid specimens for his research

Susan is a laboratory assistant at SERTC, where she has been responsible for developing and maintaining a literature database for the taxonomic reprint and book library. Susan also collects organisms for the curated specimen collection from the South Atlantic Bight, often using SCUBA to collect in deeper offshore areas or in estuaries. Susan has been maintaining SERTC’s website (http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/marine/sertc) which has recently been launched. Susan also assists with building and maintaining our specimen image library, which utilizes my keen interest in scientific and underwater photography.