Edith Widder | |
---|---|
Born | 1951 (age 72–73) Arlington, Massachusetts, United States |
Citizenship | American |
Education | Tufts University (B.S. 1973) University of California, Santa Barbara (M.S. 1977, Ph.D. 1982) |
Known for | Bioluminescence research |
Spouse | David Smith |
Awards | MacArthur Fellow (2006) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Oceanography and marine biology |
Edith Anne "Edie" Widder Smith (born 1951) is an American oceanographer, marine biologist, author and the Co-founder, CEO and Senior Scientist at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association.[1][2][3]
Widder was born in Arlington, Massachusetts[4] to Dr. David Widder, a Harvard University mathematics professor, and Dr. Vera Widder, a mathematician turned stay at home mother.[5] She also had an older brother, David Charles Widder.[6]
She graduated from Tufts University magna cum laude with a B.S. in Biology, from University of California, Santa Barbara with an M.S. in Biochemistry, and from University of California, Santa Barbara with a PhD in Neurobiology, in 1982.[7]
Widder was a senior scientist and director of the Bioluminescence Department at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution from 1989 to 2005.[8] Certified as a Scientific Research Pilot for Atmospheric Diving Systems in 1984, she holds certifications that qualify her to dive the deep diving suit WASP[2] as well as the single-person untethered submersibles DEEP ROVER and DEEP WORKER[9] and she has made over 250 dives in the JOHNSON SEA LINK submersibles.[10] Her research involving submersibles has been featured in BBC, PBS, Discovery Channel and National Geographic television productions.[11][12][13]
A specialist in bioluminescence, she has been a leader in helping to design and invent new instrumentation and techniques that enable scientists to see the ocean in new ways. These include HIDEX, a bathyphotometer, which is the U.S. Navy standard for measuring bioluminescence in the ocean,[14] and a remotely operated camera system, known as Eye in the Sea (EITS), an unobtrusive deep-sea observatory.[15][16][17]
In 2005, Widder co- founded the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of aquatic ecosystems and the species they sustain through development of innovative technologies and science-based conservation action. While translating complex scientific issues into engineerable solutions, Widder is fostering greater understanding of ocean life as a means to better, more informed ocean stewardship. In September 2006 she was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation[18] and in 2010 she participated in the TED Mission Blue Voyage in the Galapagos.[19]
In 2012, a team of scientists comprising Edith Widder, zoologist Tsunemi Kubodera and marine biologist Steve O'Shea successfully filmed a live giant squid (Architeuthis dux) in its natural habitat[20] aboard Oceanx's MV Alucia.[21]
In 2019, Edith Widder and Nathan J. Robinson filmed the first-ever footage of a live giant squid recorded in US waters.[22] This expedition was aboard the R/V Point Sur of the University of Southern Mississippi.
Widder is married to David Smith, a computer engineer.[23]
Selected publications include: