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Rack ’em Up

Engineer Loral O’Hara designed new racks to carry equipment on the upgraded Alvin, the nation’s deep-diving human-occupied research submersible. The racks hold pressure housings—the titanium bottles that house the electronics for propulsion , cameras and lighting, and data handling. The redesign allowed engineers to remove many components that previously took up room inside the personnel sphere. O’Hara spoke about her work on Alvin and her engineering journey at a recent TEDx New Beford talk. More than 100 engineers and technicians at WHOI took part in building the new Alvin.(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)