To sea and to see: That is the answer

In this article Dr. Jules S. Jaffe chronicles his development as a scientist and engineer. The story starts during his middle school years and continues up until the present day. Dr. Jaffe, as an inventor of technology for ocean exploration has played a role in a number of advances in ocean engineering. These range from the development of a planar laser imaging system for sensing fluorescent microstructure to swarms of underwater autonomous floats, to a current generation of underwater microscopes. The emphasis of the article is on career development and the process rather than the exact, and detailed, documentation of technology. Dr. Jaffe is also the Editor in Chief of Methods in Oceanography and he instituted these autobiographies for exactly this purpose: To give younger, aspiring, professionals an example of a career that has not been “straight through”, but rather a meandering path through a multitude of projects, proposals, and relationships with colleagues, students, and funding agencies.