Patrick Martin PhD Oceanography
Post-doctoral Research Fellow Nanyang Technological University at the Earth Observatory of Singapore

I came to Southampton after my undergraduate degree in biology; moving into oceanography was hence a bit of a change in field that entailed quite a steep learning curve. My aim in doing a PhD was to start on an academic/research career, and in the first instance I was attracted to Southampton by the specific project being offered. Naturally, the reputation of the NOCS contributed to my wish to study here.
I enjoyed plenty of opportunities for going to sea to do fieldwork, both on British ships and, via international collaborations, on foreign ships.
My doctoral research has examined the downward movement of organic carbon in form of particles from the surface of the ocean down to several kilometres depth, and the technological capacity in Southampton for collecting samples of such sinking particles at sea is excellent. Interdisciplinary research is valued a lot here, and people are invariably very open to starting new collaborations. I had plenty of opportunities for going to sea to do fieldwork, both on British ships and, via international collaborations, on foreign ships. I was also able to take part in the annual exchange scheme between Southampton and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US, which I enjoyed tremendously and which enhanced my knowledge and training significantly.
On completing my PhD I started a postdoctoral fellowship at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2013, I began work as a post-doctoral research fellow at Nanyang Technological University within the Earth Observatory of Singapore.