Nicole Hack

Nicole grew up in Los Angeles county but spent many weekends at beaches in Santa Barbara. It was here where she grew to love the ocean. Nicole pursued her dreams of diving by attending University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) where she gained her AAUS scientific diving certification. In 2013, she was selected to participate in a Nation Science Foundation funded Research Education for Undergraduates at Friday Harbor Marine Laboratories in Washington state. Nicole worked closely with Professor Vikram Iyengar on cohabitation (aggregation) behavior in the beach-dwelling earwig, Anisolabis maritima. She is currently working with Salvador Jorgenson at Monterey Bay Aquarium on white shark diving behavior, as well as leading a dive project to create a baseline study on a partially submerged naval vessel being used as an artificial reef in Aptos, California. Working in conjunction with the Art department and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department at UCSC, this baseline study will be used to create a novel art park that will educate the public about ocean health. She is determined to establish and maintain sustainable fisheries by becoming a fisheries biologist working with governmental and nongovernmental organizations.