National Marine Mammal Laboratory

Michael Cameron

Mike is the Chief Scientist on this research cruise and will be overseeing both the capture work and the UAS surveys. Mike has extensive experience working the Antarctic and Arctic. In 2005, Mike was one of the first researchers to successfully capture and deploy a satellite tag on a ribbon seal.

Josh London

Josh has extensive experience capturing and handling harbor, spotted and ribbon seals. Josh will be responsible for programming and deploying the satellite tags as well and providing the team with near real-time updates of seal locations and sea-ice conditions. Josh will also serve as the team's liaison for web content.

John Jansen

John has extensive experience in the Antarctic and Arctic and has been involved in several research efforts to capture harbor, spotted and ribbon seals. John has proven to have a keen eye for spotting seals in the ice and developing new capture techniques.

Shawn Dahle

In addition to his experience capturing and handling a variety of seal species in the Antarctic, Arctic and Alaska, Shawn has extensive knowledge of the published literature and previous research conducted on ribbon and spotted seals.

Erin Moreland

Erin will assist the Chief Scientist in coordination of the UAS surveys and serve as a key member of the capture team as both a boat driver and seal catcher. Erin has experience capturing and handling Hawaiian monk seals and flying aerial surveys the past two years for ice seals from US Coast Guard icebreakers.

Heather Ziel

Heather has experience capturing and handling a variety of pinniped species from California sea lions to ribbon and spotted seals. Heather not only will serve as key seal catcher or boat driver, but will also assist in the storage and processing of tissue samples. Heather coordinated much of the packing and inventorying of supplies prior to departure.

Gavin Brady

Gavin brings many years of experience to the team and has worked as a wildlife biologist in many regions of the world. As the team's most avid birder, Gavin also has a great eye for spotting seals on the ice. Gavin will also be a key member of the capture team as either a boat driver or seal catcher.

Dave Withrow

Dave is the team's aviation safety officer and helps ensure both the capture operations and aviation operations go smoothly without compromising safety. Dave also has extensive experience in the Arctic and other parts of Alaska capturing and handling various seal species.

Gregory Walker

Greg is the Unmanned Aircraft Program Manager at the University of Alaska. The University-NOAA Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR) is supporting the unmanned aircraft operations.  Greg has worked in the unmanned aircraft industry since 1987 as a designer of systems, an acquisition program manager for the Army and NASA, and lately is conducting operational research with the technology.

Marvin Bernards

Marvin works for Evergreen Unmanned Systems and has been contracted as a manufacturer, Insitu, representative. His background is focused in maintenance and operations of both manned and unmanned aircraft.  He is a Senior UAS Operator, Instructor, and Maintainer that has been on many successful field operations as both a team leader and technical expert. Marvin is along as a technical and safety advisor.

Tracey Goldstein

Tracey is a research faculty member at the Wildlife Health Center, University of California in Davis, California and also a Veterinary Technician. Tracey has extensive experience working with pinniped species in the field and will oversee the health of captured animals and assist with tissue collection and processing.

Don Hampton

Don comes to UAS operations from NASA deep space operations where he was systems engineer on the cameras for the Deep Impact Mission. His expertise is in designing, operating and analyzing the data from optical instruments of all sorts. His winter job is collecting scientific images and spectra of the aurora.