It was an early, dreary morning, but senior geography and marine science double major Jory Fleming was anything but gloomy. At the first mention of research, his eyes lit up, and he began to expound on his sea of knowledge (and knowledge of the sea).
“One thing I think that’s pretty interesting is that we know more about Mars than we do about the ocean, in terms of regions mapped and things of that notion,” Fleming said. “The great mysteries of the ocean are still waiting to be unlocked in some sense.”
This mentality, coupled with inspiration from professor Joe Jones’ previous work with ROVs (remotely operated underwater vehicles), led him to seek out research opportunities and put his studies of both geography and marine science into practice.
Fleming’s once base-level interest in ROVs eventually blossomed into a full-blown project with the Congaree National Park, using ROVs to assess aquatic life and map out uncharted grounds. He and the park rangers seek to take this new information and make it accessible to the public in an attempt to educate and excite people about about the park.
His community involvement is not just limited to this one project, though. As an active volunteer with Cocky’s Reading Express and as the Education Outreach Coordinator for SEAS (Students Engaged in Aquatic Sciences), Fleming wishes to inspire upcoming generations through creating an informative dialogue and hands-on involvement.
“Science folk can often spend 100 percent of their time on just science,” Fleming said. “I think it should be a more even split between the science and then communicating your science, engaging other people and getting people generally just interested in what you’re trying to accomplish.”
Full of enthusiasm and drive, Fleming plans to attend graduate school once his time at USC is up. At the end of the day, however, the bright-eyed and optimistic student simply hopes everyone will find fulfilling research for themselves. With that piece of intellectual encouragement as the conversational denouement, he left with a smile and a wave as he was off to go study, well, waves.
