Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Dive Team Awarded by International Organization

31 March 2025

Kim Malkoski (L) and Ed O’Brien, part of WHOI’s Dive Operations team. (Image credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s dive team recently received a top international award for its commitment to quality training, safety, and the support of scientific missions in multiple facets of diving techniques. The honor was recognized by the International Academy of Underwater Sciences and Techniques at the European Dive Show.

The WHOI dive team is comprised of about 50 divers, making approximately 1,200 dives a year in locations around the world. The team supports scientific missions by utilizing various diving techniques, providing essential equipment, and ensuring the safety of divers and the integrity of diving operations. The team is an integral part of the WHOI Reef Solutions initiative, supporting the engineering and autonomous technology used to advance solutions-based coral reef research. The dive team also supports various underwater vehicle operations, including REMUS, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) designed by WHOI’s Oceanographic Systems Lab.

WHOI’s dive team during a routine inspection of the R/V Neil Armstrong. (Image credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

“We are honored to be recognized with this top international dive award,” said Ed O’Brien, WHOI Dive Operations Manager. “Every day, our team works mostly behind the scenes, ensuring that science and research operations can be safely conducted. We are proud to do our part to advance science and ocean research.”

According to the Academy, the WHOI team was awarded this honor “to acknowledge the excellence of the Diving Department, which trains outstanding scientists in the multiple facets of diving techniques, and to honor the enthusiasm and unwavering commitment of its divers who operate from polar waters to tropical seas.”