Exploring the Deep: Technology, Discovery, and the Future of Our Oceans

Dr. Anna Michel

September 20, 2025, 8PM

Earth is an ocean planet—more than 70% of our home is covered by water an average of 12,000 feet deep, most of it unseen and unexplored. Dr. Anna Michel has devoted her life’s work to exploring this unknown. As Associate Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Chief Scientist of the National Deep Submergence Facility––the first woman to hold this position–– Dr. Michel develops new tools to monitor and understand the changing ocean. Her work takes her from the icy Canadian Arctic to track greenhouse gas emissions, to deep-sea volcanoes teeming with life, to coastal waters affected by microplastics. Whether three miles below the surface in the submersible Alvin or working with engineers in her lab, Dr. Michel is helping to unlock the ocean’s secrets and protect our blue planet from pollution and climate change. Dr. Michel’s passion for ocean exploration was sparked in high school, when she traveled to the Galápagos Islands with the Jason Project and piloted her first underwater robot. Inspired by her early experiences, she has become a strong advocate for girls and women in STEM

Co-Sponsored with Lexington Climate Action Network (LexCAN)