Sea Monsters Throughout the Ages: Fables, Films, and Facts

Prof. Peter Girguis is a professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University. His research focuses on understanding how animals and microbes make a living in Earth's most extreme environments. Girguis' research lies at the intersection of biology and geochemistry, and he develops and uses a variety of tools (high-pressure systems to mimic natural environments, in situ mass spectrometers, and in situ microbial fual cells) to address these issues. He received his BSc from the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) where he worked with David Chapman on marine alga and William Hammer on plankton ecology. He received his PhD from the UC Santa Barbara, where he worked with James Childress on the physiology and biochemistry of deep sea hydrothermal vent tubeworms and their microbial symbionts. Girguis then did postdoctoral research at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute with Edward Delong on the growth and population dynamics of anaerobic methane oxidizing archaea. Girguis has been a Distinguished Lecturer for the National Science Foundation (NSF) RIDGE2000 initiative and served as chair of the National Deep Submergence Science Committee. He has served on several notable boards, including the Ocean Exploration Trust and the Schmidt Ocean Institute. He has authored or co-authored nearly 150 publications. His honors include the 2007 and 2011 Lindbergh Foundation Award for Science and Sustainability, the Merck Co. Innovative Research Award, the 2018 Lowell Thomas Award for groundbreaking advances in marine science and technology, the 2020 Petra Shattuck Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the 2024 Marine Technology Society Ocean Exploration award.