Zena Cardman

Zena Cardman joined Nautilus as a Royster Society Graduate Fellow at the University of North Carolina pursuing a Masters in Marine Science.  She is a marine microbiologist, currently focusing on the diversity and metabolisms of microorganisms living in the seafloor sediment.  This work is one part the ECOGIG expedition's research program focused on examining the ecosystem-level response to oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Her field work has taken her from the Arctic to Antarctica and now to the Gulf of Mexico. Zena has also spent time with NASA on the Pavilion Lake Research Project, and sailed with the Sea Education Association as a diesel mechanic on board their 135-foot brigantine. Zena Cardman graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2010 with a B.Sc. in Biology and minors in Marine Sciences, Poetry, and Chemistry.   

Learn more about Zena's career as a NASA Astronaut here.