 Dr.
Michael S. Atkins is the Chairman and CEO of Ocean
Technology & Environmental Consulting. He has over 20
years experience doing scientific research, teaching, and
consulting in the field of marine and ocean sciences. He
has logged over 125K nautical miles on boats, ships, and
submersibles of all types and has logged numerous dives
at remote locations around the world. His breadth and knowledge
of the world's oceans is extensive and exhaustive. He is
an expert on the biology and ecology of the marine benthos,
especially deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems.
Michael's career in ocean sciences began in 1986 aboard
the S/V TeVega, a 50-meter schooner dedicated to educational
programs at sea. He initially served as assistant engineer,
engineer, and later as nautical science teacher for 35 students
on cruises throughout the coastal waterways of Europe and
Africa, in the Mediterranean Sea, and on several Trans-Atlantic
crossings. In 1989, Michael was hired to serve as engineer
for the Soviet-American Sail, a joint US/USSR project to
build diplomatic ties with Soviet citizens through social
and scientific interactions at sea.
From 1990-91, Michael was the co-principal investigator
and project director of the Red Sea Research Project, a
year-long effort to estimate the impact of increasing urbanization
on coral reefs near Sharm al Sheik, Egypt. The project produced
baseline data from which subsequent studies were done with
Michael serving as consultant.
In 1993, Michael completed degrees in chemistry and marine
biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. That
summer he was awarded a fellowship to study at the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he later went on to
complete a PhD in biological oceanography. In 1994, Michael
taught marine biology with the Sea Education Association
throughout the Sargasso and Caribbean Seas.
While in the MIT/WHOI Joint PhD Program, Michael did research
on the evolution and ecology of microorganisms at deep-sea
hydrothermal vents. He participated in several vent cruises
with DSV Alvin and has collected samples from vents throughout
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. After completing his PhD
in 2000, Dr. Atkins went on to do postdoctoral work involving
the molecular evolution and ecology of microorganisms from
the marine benthos and elsewhere.
From 2000 to the present, Dr. Atkins has become increasingly
involved with education and public outreach projects around
the world regarding marine sciences. He was a microbiologist
in a segment of the National Geographic documentary "Sustainable
Seas", and served as a scientific consultant and deep-submersible
diver in the film "Aliens of the Deep", by director James
Cameron and Disney Pictures, among many other EPO projects
both on land and the oceans.
With Ocean Technology & Environmental Consulting, Dr.
Atkins is compiling a team of academic and field experts
to serve as consultants on ocean-based projects. The experts
at OTEC bring to the table an extensive knowledge base ranging
from open-ocean and deep-sea engineering to environmental
impact assessment. Our team of experts can work with project
managers through all phases of a project, from proposal
writing to the design and implementation of technical equipment
to data analysis and reporting. OTEC is the culmination
of Dr. Atkins' years of work in ocean sciences and is a
project that will increase in importance and relevancy in
the years to come.
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