Mote welcomes new scientist

Mote Marine Laboratory recently welcomed Dr. Jordon Beckler, who will work on the lab’s Ocean Technology Program and study nutrient cycling in the environment, which helps with understanding the state’s red tide.

Dr. Beckler earned his doctorate last summer from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his research focused on chemical oceanography and understanding how iron moves.

“Ocean Technology at Mote has all these cool resources — it’s the perfect avenue for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach,” Dr. Beckler said in a press release. “Mote has great aquatic robotics summer camps, similar to some outreach I did in Georgia. I really want to incorporate our robotic gliders into fundamental oceanography education, starting with young kids.”

Dr. Beckler hopes his work will allow scientists to better understand how iron moves and changes, which will help them further understand the lives of both beneficial and harmful marine phytoplankton such as K. brevis, the red tide species.