October Meetup-Dr. Steven Kessel and SHARKS!

We are meeting a little later in the month to bring in our featured speaker. We are pleased to have Dr. Steven Kessel of the Shedd Aquarium as our presenter this month!

Join Dr. Steven Kessel, Shedd Aquarium’s Director of Marine Research, for a talk about his career in shark research and conservation. Steve will discuss his career journey, research highlights from his 19 years working with sharks, and his current research program at the Shedd Aquarium. He will also share how he got into SCUBA diving, learning to dive in the frigid waters of the UK, and the critical role it plays in his research. Have your shark questions at the ready to be fielded after the talk, and to get this out the way now, no, megalodons do not still exist!

Steven Kessel has worked extensively with a wide variety of marine species and has a well-established reputation as a conservation scientist. He joined Shedd Aquarium’s Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research in 2017 to oversee a suite of marine conservation research projects aimed at protecting important species in the Bahamas, including the endangered Nassau grouper and threatened queen conch.

Kessel also leads his own original research project to better understand Caribbean shark species in an effort to protect them. He has led and assisted with studies of lemon sharks, Red Sea sharks and manta rays and helped develop conservation management programs for several species.

Kessel has a Ph.D. in marine ecology and biology from Cardiff University, UK. Following the completion of his degree in 2009, he spent two years at Cardiff as a postdoctoral fellow, acting as the principal investigator for the Jupiter Large Coastal Shark Species Study, which investigated the biology and ecology of large coastal shark species residing off the eastern seaboard of the United States. Since then, Kessel has worked for the University of Windsor Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research as the principal investigator of the Lancaster Sound Arctic component of the Ocean Tracking Network. Taking a freshwater tack, at his last position, Kessel studied the movements and migrations of lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes with Michigan State University.

APPROXIMATE Schedule
7:00-Meet & Greet (Food and drink available!)
7:30-Meeting
8:00-Presentation