Spring 2001 -- Vol. 18, No. 1

FACES OF PENN STATE

Charles Fisher
Professor of Biology

Charles Fisher examines tube worms taken from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico during a dive at a cold seep. In the past 18 years, Fisher has made 74 deep-sea dives and operated remote vehicles for 54 other dives.

One spring break set the tone for the rest of Charles Fisher's life. In 1978 he made the obligatory trip to a beach town and amidst the revelry and warm temperatures of Jamaica, he found his life's calling.

"It was my first time snorkeling and I fell in love with the tropical ocean," Fisher says. "I went back to school, took appropriate classes, went to graduate school, and my initial focus was coral reefs, and the symbiosis of reefs."

After that, Fisher's love of the ocean grew deeper. While at the University of Santa Barbara working on his doctorate degree, he met biologist Jim Childress.

"He gave a talk on campus, I heard it and thought, "Oh, going down in submarines would be fun, too,' " Fisher says. "And, just about that time, Jim and some other people who were working together became aware that symbiosis was important on the ocean floor."

So, while continuing his coral reef work, Fisher started collaborating with Childress about deep-sea matters.

As he finished up his doctoral work, Fisher focused more on the deep sea and began what he calls an apprenticeship. "Going on a ship and using a submarine is not something you can read a book about and do," Fisher says. "You have to use the old-fashioned, learn-as-you-go method."

Armed with that experience, and with an important combination of contacts and curiosity, Fisher's own career has blossomed.

His work has been prolific, with more than 70 journal publications and 70 invited talks to his credit, and productive, with an ability to earn worldwide recognition and impact students.

Among his many accomplishments have been the discovery of "ice worms" that live at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico on methane-rich ice, and the discovery that some of the tube worms he studies are the longest-living invertebrates in the world.

While certain discoveries, such as the ice worms, truly thrill Fisher--"a whole new habitat, a whole new place where animals abound and nobody thought it was possible"--he gets enthused about almost everything he does.

He passes that enthusiasm along in many ways. From the Research and Education: Volcanoes, Exploration and Life (REVEL) program, designed to provide research experiences at sea for middle-school and high-school teachers, to his usually busy on-campus lab, he impacts everyone from other researchers to undergraduate students.

Even without waterfront property, Penn State has proven to be a good home for Fisher, his family, and his research.

"Everything I do requires a ship and a submarine or remote vehicle," Fisher says. "There's nothing I can do by walking off the beach.

"Most of all, you need understanding administrators and quality labs on campus. We have all of that here."

-- By Steve Sampsell

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