Ocean Engineering: Uniting Man's Technology with Earth's Beauty Stephanie Groleau

John F. Kennedy stated in his 1961 Inaugural Address, "Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths..." People in the different fields of science explore and research a wide variety of areas, but are united by their thirst for knowledge. Since the beginning of the human race, man created myths to explain why the sun rises, who the stars represent, and what monsters live in the ocean, always determined to move one step closer to the infinite.

Although most people no longer believe in these stories, the search continues for explanations of natural phenomena. Like Galileo, Kepler, and Cousteau, I am driven by a thirst to discover the unknown and a passion for the beauty of the universe. "The Last Frontier" is no longer the West, but space and the ocean. It is the enchanting and mysterious flora, fauna, and rhythms of the ocean that have pulled me to the field of ocean engineering.

As an ocean engineer, I may help design robots or submarines that may be used to decipher the past by exploring shipwrecks, or to find organisms for medicinal purposes. I may also design sonar devices for use...