URI’s Diving Research and Safety Program trains the next generation of ocean scientists and leaders.
By Edward Weinman
Their dive logs read like bucket lists.
Anya Hanson and Alexandra Moen ’15, M.S. ’21, who run URI’s Diving Research and Safety Program, have scuba dived below polar ice sheets, in the waters of the Red Sea, and across the Caribbean. Moen has even logged dives at Walt Disney World—in a massive tank at The Seas with Nemo and Friends Aquarium.
Hanson had the opportunity to travel the world on a fellowship cosponsored by the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and Rolex, proof of which is the Rolex Submariner—a high-end dive watch—wrapped around her wrist.
“I have experienced many different cultures and environments while diving. It was on that fellowship that I knew I wanted to make diving my career, which led me to the University of Rhode Island,” says Hanson, diving safety officer and director of URI’s diving program.
Students in Anya Hanson’s course, Research Diving Methods (AFS 433), descend down a line in Bonaire for deep-dive training.
Moen’s dive adventures started right here at URI, when she was an undergraduate marine biology major.
“A couple of days near the beach each year was the pinnacle of my ocean experience,” says Moen, who is the program’s associate diving safety officer.
“At URI, I enrolled in AFS 270, Basic Scuba Skills and Introduction to Research Diving, to learn to dive—the same class I now teach,” says Moen, who is also an associate teaching professor in URI’s Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science.
Both instructors have experienced epic dives, but they agree that their favorites are right here in the murky and unpredictable waters off the Rhode Island coastline.
“I started my first dives in the cold—in February, in Jamestown, R.I.—and was immediately hooked,” says Moen. “I was drawn in by the rigor, the awe, and the challenge that it provided. I’m a cold-water girl; there’s nothing quite like it.”
“My favorite thing is when students experience the wonder of their first dive. Sometimes they doubt there is anything worth seeing in the cold Rhode Island water. But as soon as my head breaks the surface at the end of the dive, I hear their excited chatter about all the amazing things that live just below the surface.”
—Katie Nickles ’16, M.S. ’19
Off Castle Hill in Newport, R.I., dive instructor and URI dive program alum, Katie Nickles ’16, M.S. ’19, inspects oceanographic instrumentation.
Hanson’s favorite local dive spot is the very place Moen learned to dive, and the place Hanson and Moen bring their students: Bull Point at Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, an often difficult dive due to turbid waters and strong rip currents, where the instructors take students to depths of up to 100 feet.
“It’s a challenging dive because it’s unpredictable and murky. It can be dark and dreary, but when you shine a light on this large rock wall that is covered with anemones, sponges, corals, and algae, it turns into a kaleidoscope of colors,” Hanson says.
The Ocean: A Living Laboratory
In the American Academy of Underwater Sciences’ 2024 statistics, URI was listed among the top ten largest university scientific dive programs. URI’s program offers both academic and recreational scuba diving certifications, including for-credit courses like the aforementioned Basic Scuba Skills and Introduction to Research Diving. Also offered are Advanced Diving and Underwater Photography/Film, as well as a Research Diving Methods course.
But this isn’t just about handing out cert cards. Hanson says the program has supported research on local wind farms, including the first offshore wind farm in the United States; through the program, divers study changes to the local underwater marine environment. Experiments, designed by URI researchers, are conducted by the program’s divers to support the collection of data, which in turn provides critical information used for policy and conservation.
Anya Hanson and Alex Moen prepare to enter the water at Fort Wetherill to collect algae for a lab.
Because Moen and Hanson are both scientists, they are teaching students to dive while also preparing students for the rigors of underwater research.
“The program connects students’ academic aspirations with the challenging, often perilous demands of ocean exploration, forging marine scientists, engineers, and conservationists ready for any environment,” Hanson says.
Taylor Lindsay, Ph.D. ’25, is one of those scientists forged through the URI program. She arrived at URI as a first-year doctoral student in marine biology already knowing how to dive. At URI, she began researching a local coral species, Astrangia poculata, the northern star coral.
Lindsay’s research focused on the relationship between light and the facultative symbiosis of the coral, where two different organisms benefit from each other, but the relationship isn’t required for survival. She identified physiological and trophic changes (how the coral feeds itself) that occur when the light environment shifts. This research, important for understanding how changing seas impact the life of coral, required the deployment of equipment and weekly monitoring in Narragansett Bay.
“Anya was incredibly supportive throughout the research project, both in terms of safe and efficient diving and in helping to design experiments for the challenging underwater environment,” says Lindsay.
“The program connects students’ academic aspirations with the challenging, often perilous demands of ocean exploration, forging marine scientists, engineers, and conservationists ready for any environment.”
—Anya Hanson, Director URI Diving Research and Safety Program
Anya Hanson takes photographs on a dive in Belize off Carrie Bow Cay.
Lindsay started with checkout dives to review her skills and eventually completed her advanced diver, rescue diver, divemaster, and drysuit certifications while finishing her Ph.D. research—research that led to two published journal articles, a notable accomplishment for a Ph.D. student.
“Research diving is intense, but the inviting and supportive environment of the URI dive program allowed me to push myself safely,” says Lindsay.
Lindsay says that through diving she learned resilience and determination and developed stress-coping mechanisms to stay poised, skills she uses to this day on dry land.
“Over the years, these diving skills have given me confidence in moments of high intensity. Like during my comprehensive exams and defending my dissertation to complete my Ph.D., the skills I learned for diving helped me to problem- solve and remain calm.”
Training for Unpredictability
The core mission of the URI dive program is obviously to teach diving for scientific research, but students learn much more; learning to breathe underwater is merely the start. Hanson and Moen teach future researchers to master the chaos of multitasking in a dynamic, three-dimensional environment, preparing them for careers in which calmness under pressure is as vital as keeping track of the remaining air in their tanks.
“In a research diving class, students are gathering data while manipulating instrumentation and tools, in addition to keeping track of their dive buddy in a limited visibility environment, all while following scuba rules and dealing with changing currents,” Hanson explains.
“This requires students to be ready for unpredictability,” adds Moen.
The program supports a wide array of research, from underwater archaeology to oceanography and marine biology (such as collecting shellfish to study the production of nitrous oxide, a project Moen worked on as an undergrad). Both Hanson and Moen emphasize the rigorous environments and conditions in which students can expect to train.
“I recall terrifying moments in my career, like being at 125 feet with no light after both my primary and backup lights failed; and training in Finland that involved digging ice holes and shuttling people on snowmobiles,” Moen says.
She adds, “This kind of training is fundamental: It allows students to gain the professional confidence to handle anything the ocean throws at them.”
Training begins in the pool. In Basic Scuba Skills and Introduction to Research Diving, Alex Moen teaches students how to remove and replace their regulators.
A student performs a benthic survey in Belize during a Winter J-Term Research Diving Methods course.
Mighty Keene-Connole ’24, a dive officer aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Pisces, credits the URI dive program for preparing him to handle the unpredictability of the water.
“As the Pisces dive officer, I must consider: How do divers get into the water? How do they get out? What are our emergency procedures? Where is the nearest hospital or decompression chamber, and how far away is it? These are all critical questions that must be answered long before any dive operation begins,” says Keene-Connole, who majored in marine affairs and oceanography.
The Pisces is one of NOAA’s most important research vessels. It displayed its versatility during NOAA’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. The ship carried out multiple missions such as surveying reef fish, bottom-dwelling fish, and shrimp to sample seafood and water quality to assess the severity of the oil spill. As a part of the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment, investigators on board Pisces collected data on fish and invertebrate samples to evaluate the condition and abundance of fish stocks.
The responsibility of a dive officer on a ship like this is immense. “Thanks to the URI dive program, I have a strong foundation for taking on this responsibility,” Keene-Connole says.
The URI dive program was the pathway to Keene-Connole’s career dreams. He grew up in Rhode Island and, drawn to the ocean, spent much of his free time surfing, snorkeling, and sailing competitively on Narragansett Bay. Getting scuba-certified had always been a goal, and while choosing classes during his sophomore year, he came across the dive program.
“It turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my time at URI,” says Keene-Connole. “It didn’t take long after joining the program for me to realize that I wanted diving to be a part of my career.
“I felt I had found my calling in diving, and I began searching for career paths that combined my academic interests with underwater work,” he continues, noting that during his time at NOAA, he’s had access to dive spots most civilians do not, and he became one of the few people in the world to dive at Midway Atoll in the North Pacific, a remote outlet, and site of a major battle that many consider a turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II.
The Scary Part
Being underwater changes how a diver sees the world. Like an astronaut staring down at Earth from space, noticing the blueness, diving changes one’s perception about where human beings fit into the world.
“Diving is the closest feeling one might have to flying or hovering without the effect of gravity, similar to what an astronaut might experience,” Hanson says. “Mentally, I’m extremely mindful of the present moment, something I can’t often get on land.” Her teaching philosophy, she says, centers on that feeling and the mind-body connection that diving enforces.
Moen chimes in, “I feel my purest self when I’m diving.” She was recently diagnosed with patent foramen ovale, a hole in her heart that nearly prevented her from ever diving again. This “invisible injury,” as she calls it, has helped her realize the emotional and mental connection she has to the water.
Diving changes one’s perception about where human beings fit into the world.
Alexa Farraj ’20 diving in Bermuda. Farraj and other students in Anya Hanson’s Research Diving Methods (AFS 397) course traveled to Bermuda to learn to take underwater photos for science communication.
“I’m incredibly grounded when I dive. That’s what I love about diving, especially diving in cold water: You have to be present.”
Hanson and Moen are keenly aware that they are teaching essential life skills that are valuable both on the surface and deep below. The program is more important than ever, they say, because modern living has changed the calculus of uncomfortability. We live in a time when groceries and gifts can be ordered online, and people spend an inordinate amount of time living in the digital space.
“Many people no longer know what it means to be uncomfortable,” Hanson says. “Our program intentionally introduces this challenge. Simple exercises, like taking a mask off underwater, help students navigate an uncomfortable feeling.”
The classes start from the beginning. Snorkeling to get used to breathing in water. Then pool work before entering the ocean, what Moen calls the “scary part.” She explains that the goal is to help students find comfort in discomfort.
Alex Moen (left), associate diving safety officer, and Anya Hanson, diving safety officer and director of URI’s Diving Research and Safety Program, at Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, R.I. In the past 10 years, the dive program has administered 2,000 certifications and conducted 17,721 dives.
Keene-Connole praises the program for teaching him “how to remain calm and think clearly in high-pressure situations.” For him, diving is also “incredibly freeing” and a “total escape from the problems and stress that exist on land,” a sentiment many divers share.
“Diving instills the intrinsic benefit of personal resilience. We see the mental health benefits that come from walking away from an uncomfortable experience and realizing there is something amazing on the other side,” Moen says.
The Unknown
The ocean is the largest and most vibrant living space on Earth. It covers 70% of the planet’s surface with an average depth of over 12,000 feet. Despite hosting more life than anywhere else, estimated to be up to one million species, the vast majority of the ocean remains largely unknown. This is why a science-driven dive program like URI’s is so important.
“URI divers are engaged in research around the world covering multiple disciplines from marine biology, ecology, oceanography, archaeology, ocean engineering, and conservation,” Hanson says. “The program provides training and support for all types of research and the exploration of our underwater world, including the health of Narragansett Bay, its marine life, and the fisheries that depend on it.”
After receiving her Ph.D. from URI, Lindsay is now conducting postdoctoral research at Tufts University. She notes that our species has seen less than 0.001 percent of the deep ocean seafloor. The dive program, while exciting and uniquely different from most university classes, provides scientists like Lindsay with the skills to descend into the cold darkness in order to better understand this alien world.
“At the end of the day, I’m a marine biologist,” Lindsay says, “Rhode Island’s subtidal environment may be cold and dark, but it’s rich in beautiful seascapes and fascinating species of algae, invertebrates, and fish.
“The best thing about diving is that it allows me to learn about and explore the world under the ocean’s surface.”
PHOTOS: ANYA HANSON; SETH JACOBSON; TANYA BURNETT; COURTESY ANYA HANSON
I was honored to be part of the 4-person inaugural GSO Research Diving Program begun by Phil Sharkey, Eric Anderson, and Paul Heinmiller who allowed me to join them in that great adventure. It’s incredible to see the program has grown to be so successful and respected. Kudos to all who’ve moved the program forward, and to the author of the article. Reading it evoked warm memories of teaching and supporting URI research.
As a diver myself, I appreciated the well thought out and detailed reflection of research diving presented in this article. It is a terrific program to immerse researchers, students, and professionals into the environment which dominates life on earth, and encompasses the environment of oceanography and academic study. My diving is in the warmer waters of SC, studying fossils from the river bottom. I must say that the picture of Anya and Alex in the snow and preparing to enter the water is another level altogether. Well done divers!!
Reading this story sends me back to my early diving adventures in Southern California, where I got my NAUI certification as a recreational diver at the age of 16, some 40 years ago. How wonderful that scientists are able to have research careers that focus on the health and well-being of our oceans and marine ecosystems. I can’t think of a more vital calling, and doing what you love for work is a great gift!
Brian McEachen, BA, UCLA, 1981