Dr. Jeroen Molemaker
Program Director
Dr. Jeroen Molemaker is an physical Oceanographer with an interest in oceanic phenomena that are beyond the power of satellites of observe and only recently within the power of numerical models to simulate. The small scale flows, also known as the submesoscale is thought to be of critical importance for the global energy budget of the ocean, the exchange of properties between the ocean and the atmosphere, and on the bio-geochemistry of the upper ocean. He is the founder of the Marine Operations program at UCLA and has lead it since it’s inception in 2014.
Yuzuna Kudo
Ahoy! I’m a third-year AOS major and I joined the crew in my first year after a field trip on the Zodiac exposed me to UCLA’s AOS department, where I was inspired to change my major and get involved in research.
Liam Jenny
Ahoy! My name is Liam, a third-year student studying Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and Political Science at UCLA. I am interested in the biogeochemical processes that influence primary production in the Santa Monica Bay, exploring how climate change affects the planktonic foundation of our ocean’s ecosystem. As a part of MOPS, I have not only been able to gain amazing hand-on experience but have also found a community of similar ocean-loving individuals to share my passion. I love going on research cruises and seeing short-beaked common dolphins splashing in the wake of the Zodiac!
Jordan Guzman
My name is Jordan Guzman (he/him) and I am a fourth year majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Environmental Systems and Society. I grew up swimming and surfing across Southern California’s amazing beaches and have carried that love for the ocean into Marine Ops. I am excited to learn more about water pollution’s impacts along our coast and build my skills in oceanographic research while being at the forefront of being a good steward of our oceans. I love spotting bottlenose dolphins while surfing a southwest swell with Santa Ana winds!
Kara Malone
Hi my name is Kara Malone (she/her) and I am a third-year Environmental Science student. I joined MOPS because I have always loved being out on the water and I love doing research. I am from Florida so I have grown up going on boat trips! MOPS has just reaffirmed my love for all things ocean and I’m so glad that UCLA has a program like this for undergraduate students.
Sofia Gulmini
Hi! This is Sofia (she/her), I am an international student from Italy with a major in Chemical Engineering and minor in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. I joined MOPS because it gives allows us students to have a tangible impact in Oceanic research through hands-on experience and learning by doing. Plus, the MOPS community is incredibly passionate and welcoming, I immediately felt like I belonged. Fun fact: my favorite ocean animal is the seahorse!
Aisha Mardini
Hi! I’m Aisha (she/her), a 4th year Applied Mathematics major with an Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences minor at UCLA. I’m interested in physical oceanography research and numerical modeling. I got involved with MOPs because I wanted hands-on oceanography experience and I love the ocean! Plus MOPs is an incredible community of students with a wide academic background.
Liam de Villa Bourke
Hi, my name is Liam (he/him) and I am a 4th-year environmental science major. I joined MOPS last year to find a way to get closer to LA’s natural environment and get out of my comfort zone. It has been a great experience, especially seeing dolphins out on the water!
Selena Yu
Hello! My name is Selena, and I’m a fourth year studying computer engineering with an AOS minor. I joined MOPS because going on the Zodiac for the first time on a field trip for AOS 103 was one of the moments I knew I wanted to go into oceanography! I love being on and in the ocean (even after getting stung by a jellyfish as a kid) and my favorite ocean animal is the sea turtle.
Anna Peterson
Hi! My name is Anna and I’m a 4th year Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences / Mathematics major. My pronouns are she/her and I’m originally from New York! I joined MOPS here at UCLA because I’m really interested in physical oceanography and getting to be apart of a team that explores the ocean on a boat seemed super cool. My favorite ocean animal are jellyfish because I love the way they blob around and their interesting shapes & colors. Shoutout Fried Egg Jellyfish!
Amelie Le Prevost
Hey! My name is Amelie, and I’m a second-year Marine Biology major. Growing up on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, I always had a deep appreciation for the ocean, so that’s why I joined MOPS. Through hands-on experiences, it has been amazing to learn from other people in the program who are actively contributing to marine research, both in the lab and out on the water.
Nora Gallagher
Hi there! My name is Nora, and I am a third-year Environmental Science major with a minor in Environmental Engineering. I first became involved with MOPS after going on a field trip in the Zodiac for a Physical Oceanography class, and I’ve been hooked ever since! I’m passionate about oceanographic research to keep our bays clean and to ensure the safety of marine animals. Since joining MOPS as a sophomore, I’ve loved getting to spend time on the water, maintain the Zodiac, and repair critical equipment in the lab, all while being surrounded by a group of like-minded, awesome UCLA students!
Jillian Dessing
Hi! My name is Jillian, and I’m a fourth-year double major in Climate Science and Statistics & Data Science. Growing up in coastal communities in San Diego, the ocean has always been a huge part of my life, shaping the local ecosystem, economy, and even the day-to-day weather. That connection sparked my interest in understanding how the ocean interacts with urban environments like Los Angeles, especially the impacts of extreme heat and rising sea surface temperatures on that dynamic relationship and how it continues to evolve with climate change. I especially love being out on the water, spotting dolphins and sea lions from the boat, and looking back at LA to see the santa monica pier, hollywood hills, and downtown LA with snow capped mountains in the background. There’s nothing quite like it.
Laura Edwards
After graduating from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a minor in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Laura served as the manager of the Marine Operations Program and pilot of the Zodiac from 2022-2025. In this role, she led educational field trips and research cruises, operated and maintained scientific instruments, and managed lab organization and operations. Additionally, she mentored over 15 undergraduate students and made a significant impact on the program. She is now a PhD student in the Integrative Biology department at Oregon State University, studying marine ecology and the rocky intertidal zone.
Garrett Staller
Garrett joined Marine Operations in the Fall of 2022 in his third year as a UCLA AOS major. He completed a project using temperature and salinity data collected on the Zodiac to characterize fronts in the Santa Monica Bay. After graduating in 2024, he now works as a Model Developer and Research Assistant at UCLA and works to improve code functionality, add new tools for users, and make existing code more accessible and readable for UCLA’s Regional Ocean Modeling System. He continues to expand on his undergraduate project to include correlations between chlorophyll and fronts in the SMB, and is now pursuing a PhD at UC Santa Barbara.
Sarah Hafiz
Sarah is a Sustainability Analyst for Belkin and is aiming to get her masters in Environmental Engineering. At Belkin she work on a variety of projects, including calculating the total CO2 footprint of the organization for the corporate environmental report. This helps with planning and facilitating projects throughout the organization to reduce GHG emissions. She also ensures all the products are free of hazardous substances harmful to the environment and people, and that the products follow chemical regulatory standards.
Tanner Shinkle
Tanner joined Marine Operations as a third year AOS major in Winter 2023 and undertook a project characterizing the optimal conditions for identifying the direction and magnitude of surface currents in the Santa Monica Bay using drone footage. His interests include instrument development, modeling, and being hands-on with the ocean. He is now pursuing a P.h.D. at Stanford University.
Tim Pilegard
Tim recently finished his master’s in Marine Studies at University of Delaware, and is currently working for L3 OceanServer, an autonomous underwater vehicle company, as a field engineer in San Diego.
Kristie Ashby
After participating with Marine Operations in 2016, and graduating from UCLA with an Environmental Science B.S., Kristie Ashby now works as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst with Evari GIS Consulting, Inc., a San Diego company that contracts locally and nationally to create, analyze and present geographic information. The company provides GIS services in support of stormwater, civil engineering, planning, transportation, and smart city, Internet of Things (IoT) projects.
Lucia Bertero
Lucia was the Operations Manager and Technician for the Marine Operations team. She joined the team as an undergraduate intern in January of 2016 after a field trip on the Kodiak for the AOS Physical Oceanography course. After graduating in December of 2016, she came back to the team as a staff member and has been working with us since, assisting with field research in the Gulf of Mexico, the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, and locally in Santa Monica Bay. She is currently working at Scripps in San Diego.
Michael Hicks
Michael Hicks was an intern during his time as a Math and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science student. He worked on the Hydrofoil attachment for one of our instruments known as an ADCP, which is now regularly used to collect water current data.
Erin Hollander
Erin was a Marine Biology major. Originally from Marin in Northern California, she grew up hiking, swimming, and diving in the ocean and she loves everything about the water. She previously studied Sea Star Wasting Disease and tunicates in the San Francisco State University’s marine wet lab.
Carly Messex
Carly graduated with her B.S. in Environmental Science and three accompanying minors. She has a passion for protecting biodiversity and plans to pursue a career in marine and soil conservation. Carly began working with UCLA Marine Operations at the beginning of Fall Quarter 2017 and worked on renovating the Towed Instrument Array (or TIA) cable to improve its efficiency. Her favorite instrument in the lab is the coffeemaker.
Michael Morrison
Michael is currently creating an online climate change certification course for working professionals with The US Green Chamber of Commerce. He is an Air Quality, Environmental, and sustainability consultant at Alta Environmental (CEQA analyses, GHG inventories, hazardous waste reporting, annual sustainability reports).
Yasmin Razil
Yasmin was an AOES major from Malaysia. She loves ice cream and scuba diving. As a Marine Ops intern, Yasmin documented the operating procedures for the Towed Instrument Array.
Aviv Solodoch
Aviv was a graduate student in the UCLA AOS department, doing observational research in the Marine Operations team (further on this and more research Aviv is involved with in his homepage: https://dept.atmos.ucla.edu/avivsolo). He got involved in the Marine Operations program in his 1st year since he thought it would be a fun thing to do, and as he was right, was sucked in henceforth. Aviv led the UCLA team in the SPLASH campaign (where Jeroen served as CARTHE’s Chief Scientist), as well as the development of the Towed Instrument Array and other Kodiac capabilities in preparation for the campaign. He enjoys long days of taking measurements on glassy seas, and is satisfied after long days of taking measurements on incredibly choppy seas.
As of July 2023, Aviv is a Senior Lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Interested in getting involved?