WHOI dive team receives international award for excellence

Woods Hole, Mass. (April 1, 2025) – 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.

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

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.

“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 for the advancement of 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.”

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About Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930, its mission is to understand the ocean and its interactions with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate an understanding of the ocean’s role in the changing global environment. WHOI’s pioneering discoveries stem from an ideal combination of science and engineering—one that has made it one of the most trusted and technically advanced leaders in fundamental and applied ocean research and exploration anywhere. WHOI is known for its multidisciplinary approach, superior ship operations, and unparalleled deep-sea robotics capabilities. We play a leading role in ocean observation and operate the most extensive suite of ocean data-gathering platforms in the world. Top scientists, engineers, and students collaborate on more than 800 concurrent projects worldwide—both above and below the waves—pushing the boundaries of knowledge to inform people and policies for a healthier planet. Learn more at whoi.edu.