What is your background in and what are you working on now?
I did all my studies in France, first fundamental physics for my undergrad in Paris, and then I moved to Brest to do both my masters and PhD in physical oceanography at the Laboratory of Ocean Physics and Satellite Remote Sensing (LOPS) of the University of Brest. I came to Scripps about a year ago to do my postdoc, and here I’m working with Amy Waterhouse and Gunnar Voet. I’m currently using mooring data from the NISKINe project to look at near-inertial waves and mesoscale interactions in the North Atlantic. During my masters degree I did some internships in labs using observations from the Arctic, but my PhD was on internal tides using model output in Eulerian and Lagrangian frameworks, and so now I’ve sort of moved back into observations which is fun.

What keeps you excited and interested in working in the field of oceanography?
A lot of things! The excitement of research, being able to follow my curiosity and continuing to learn new things, meeting new people, traveling… I just really like what I get to do for a living.

When you were a kid, did you expect to be a scientist or engineer?
I guess so. As a kid I was less into math and physics, and more into archaeology and history though. But I always loved learning new things, so I’m not too surprised I ended up in science.

Were there any particular things from your childhood that drew you to study the ocean?
Nothing that particular, I really enjoyed being around the sea growing up but I think it was my love for getting to apply physics on to something real and tangible that drew me to physical oceanography.

At sea for the NOPP cruise in April 2024.

What skills or abilities do you think are useful when going into oceanography or academia in general?
Curiosity and open-mindedness are the most important things to have. Also, a certain level of confidence is important. You need to stay humble and open to learning, but at some point you also have to start trusting yourself and your capabilities and start to develop your independence as a researcher. It won’t always be easy or perfect, but you have to trust that you’ll be able to learn from your mistakes and you’ll be fine.

What does a typical workday look like for you?
That really depends on what I’m doing at the moment. If I have something to write, like a paper, I try to do that early in the morning when I’m more focused and save the coding for the afternoon. Some days I’m working on a big coding project and I’ll happily be coding all day. Most days are a bit of a mix though, writing, meetings, seminars et cetera, and then coding is something fun I try to sneak in whenever I can.

What drew you to Scripps?
I had heard so much about Scripps while doing my masters and PhD, and got an opportunity to come here for the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 that was held in San Diego, just before covid. My PhD advisor did his PhD and postdoc here and he showed me around and introduced me to some people and it was just really easy to see myself here. Then when Amy and Gunnar offered a postdoc I knew I had to apply.

At Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans 2024.

Is there a particular scientist/person /something that inspires you?
I do have a few people that I look up to and that have been great mentors to me. My parents always supported and encouraged me to follow the path I wanted. My father in particular really taught me to believe in my abilities. On the more scientific side, my PhD advisor has really helped me grow as a scientist. I did a lot of my PhD studies during Covid, and our weekly meetings were great and something to hold on to through the lockdowns.

Do you have a fun fact that you'd like to share that not everyone knows about you?
I have a blackbelt in taekwondo. I started doing martial arts quite early and earned my black belt about the time I finished high school. I don’t practice as much anymore though, Covid and my PhD studies kind of put things on halt for a bit, but maybe a postdoc is the time to get back into it…

Written by Kerstin Bergentz