Dawn Kernagis has announced that she is officially joining DEEP as their Director of Scientific Research, adding to a roster that includes other ‘big names' from the diving world, including Phil Short and Kirk Krack.
Kernagis has assisted with numerous DoD and NASA-funded projects focused on extreme environmental physiology, and she was also a diver and manager of numerous underwater exploration, research, and conservation projects around the world from 1993-2007, including the deep underwater exploration of Wakulla Springs and surrounding caves for over a decade.
In 2016, Dawn was selected as one of six crew members to live and conduct research while living underwater with NASA’s undersea mission, NEEMO 21. Based on her extensive exploration, mentorship, and experience in diving and in the extreme environment research community, she was selected as an inductee into the Women Divers Hall of Fame (Class of 2016) and as a Fellow National of The Explorers Club.
In 2018, she received the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society’s Young Scientist Award.
Kernagis said: “Working with the super-talented DEEP team to create and expand their science portfolio is an absolute dream career opportunity.
“From marine and earth sciences, to undersea human performance and medicine, to technology and engineering development, the current and future research opportunities are boundless!”
She added: “I continue to be grateful for my time at the University of North Carolina, and I look forward to maintaining an adjunct faculty appointment with UNC moving forward.”
