Hi! My name is Liz Podowski, and I’ve just returned to Penn State after taking 9 months off to travel around the world. I did my Master’s degree with Dr. Chuck Fisher and am back in his lab working as a research assistant. I’ll be on the upcoming May 2009 cruise to the Lau Basin. I am really excited to work with you all through FLEXE! Below I’ve answered a few questions so you can get to know me a little better:

What do you do?
I’m a research assistant in Dr. Chuck Fisher’s deep-sea lab at Penn State. We study marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Western Pacific where chemoautotrophy forms the base of the food chain. I am particularly interested in mapping vent communities in the Lau Basin (Western Pacific) in order to understand which abiotic and biotic factors affect animal distributions.

What did you want to be when you were a middle school student?
I wanted to be a veterinarian. I loved animals and still do. In high school I had two different part-time jobs working at veterinary clinics. I really enjoyed the work, but the experience made me realize that I didn’t want to grow up to be a veterinarian. I love being outside, and the vet’s office was a bit too confined. But I’ll tell you one thing, I definitely did not know that I wanted to be a marine biologist. I didn’t even know what hydrothermal vents were until I was college; so, you’re already way ahead of me!

What would you do if you didn’t have your current job?
If I could do anything? A writer and photographer for National Geographic.

What is your education/training?
In December 2007, I received a Bachelor’s degree with honors in biology, a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and a Master’s degree in biology from the Pennsylvania State University.

What inspired you to choose your career & who were your role models?
Actually, I wouldn’t really say I have chosen my career yet. But I have definitely had some amazing and very influential role models. First, my parents. They are so intelligent, articulate, motivated, and concerned. They have supported every decision I have ever made, and their confidence in me was essential in building my own self-confidence and self-respect. Second, my sisters. They are beautiful, independent, and crazy. I look up to them and always go to them for advice. And third, my advisor, Chuck Fisher. I couldn’t have found a better advisor. Chuck’s guidance, support, and willingness to help in any way possible (even when I haven’t asked!) have been integral in my development as a student, scientist, and individual.

Please describe your family.
I’m glad you asked this question, because my mom, dad, and sisters are absolutely my best friends and a big part of who I am. I have two younger sisters, Megan and Alex. Growing up we moved a lot. At one point we were moving to a new state every 1½ years – I was in a different school and different state for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. I hated it at the time. But reflecting on the experience, I realize it only made our family closer and my sisters and I very independent. By the time I finished high school we had been living in Dallas, TX for 6 years. 6 years! That was so long for us, and I was ready to move. I got out of the state and out of the south and started university at Penn State.

Megan just received her Bachelor’s degree in social work from St. Edward’s University. She now works as a social worker for Goodwill Services in Austin, TX. Alex, the youngest, is still studying psychology at St. Edward’s University where she also plays on the varsity soccer team. My mom and dad just returned to the United States last April after living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for two years. My mom used to teach 6th grade science, and she currently works part-time in Tulsa, OK for an after-school education enrichment program. My dad just recently retired early from Halliburton Energy Services, the reason we moved so often and why my parents lived in Malaysia. He now works for a small oil and gas company in Tulsa.

What do you do in your free time?
I love cycling and running, scuba diving and snorkeling, and really anything that I can do outside, as long as it’s not too cold. I love traveling and do it as much as I can. I like to read and paint. And I love love love learning new things. Currently, I’m obsessed with food: gardening, cooking, eating as locally and naturally as possible, and really developing a good relationship with and understanding of the food I eat.

Any Fun Facts about you?

• I just returned to the United States after living and traveling internationally for 9 months. I kayaked in New Zealand’s fiordland, volunteered at a marine research station on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, worked at a marine research institute in Sabah, Borneo (Malaysia), went scuba diving with my best friend in Thailand, swam in the Mekong River in Cambodia, skied in the Himalayas in India, and taught science at a local school in Kathmandu, Nepal.

• I lived in Costa Rica and studied tropical ecology for 4 months during my junior year of college.

• I’ve been in a submarine 6 times, 2,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico.

• I climbed the highest mountain in Fiji (which, honestly isn’t that high, but still the highest in the country)!

• AND I’m 25 and still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up!