Aquarium Video Presentations

Rob Mortensen, who spoke at the Aquarium on October 25, 2011, is the Aquariums assistant curator of birds and mammals. He previously served as a zookeeper at the Santa Barbara Zoo, a senior aquarist at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and an attack helicopter crew chief for the U.S. Army.

Joe Roman spoke at the Aquarium on September 28, 2011 about his research into the ecological role of whales in the ocean. He is a conservation biologist, freelance writer, and researcher at the University of Vermont. His research appears in the journals Science, BioScience, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, among others.

Michele Westmorland, who spoke at the Aquarium on March 30, 2011, is a photojournalist with a twenty-year history of traveling the world documenting the marine life that inhabits the oceans. Her work has appeared in national and international publications, including National Geographic Traveler, Outside, Sport Diver, and Scuba Diving.

Aubrey Fine, who spoke at the Aquarium on June 2, 2011, has been in the field of animal-assisted therapy for more than thirty years. His clinical practice focuses on the treatment of children with developmental, learning, attention, and behavioral disorders. He has been an active faculty member at California State Polytechnic University since 1981.

Juliet Eilperin, who spoke at the Aquarium about sharks on July 27, 2011, joined The Washington Post in 1998 as its House of Representatives reporter. Since 2004 she has served as the Post’s national environmental reporter, reporting on science, policy, and politics in areas including climate change, oceans, and air quality.

Nate Jaros received his Bachelors Degree in Biology and Environmental Science form Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2002, Jaros began working as an aquarist at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, and found his specialty in the area of jelly culture. He accepted his position at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach in 2005. For over two years now he has successfully filled the Aquarium of the Pacific's exhibits with cultured jellies, and has sent many jellies to other aquariums.

Dr. Julie Hagelin’s research has shown that in addition to their senses of sight and sound, some birds also use a sense of smell to communicate with others and to attract mates. She explains how studies of Crested Auklets at the Aquarium of the Pacific and at a breeding site in western Alaska have led her to say: “The bird nose knows”. Dr Hagelin is an assistant professor at Swarthmore College where she teaches classes in animal behavior, behavioral ecology, and general biology.