Dr. Sophia Merrifield is Chief Scientist aboard R/V Sally Ride this week. A postdoc in Dr. Eric Terrill’s lab at Scripps, she organizes and watches over every deployment and recovery. Other members of the lab are out here on a science verification cruise, to make sure the ship is ready and able to deploy their unmanned autonomous vehicles. Designed, built, and tested by technicians, graduate students, postdocs, and even an undergrad, the vehicles include aerial quadcopters and a kayak. Also onboard is a team from Planck Aerosystems, a San Diego company developing drone technology for maritime purposes.

More detailed posts, including more pictures and videos, coming soon!