Hi to all of my microbe friends! We are very busy today with coring and working in the labs. There are about 125 meters of sediments covering the hard rock of the ocean floor and we are coring all of the sediments. Many people work on board the JOIDES Resolution to make sure everything works the way it should. Today, I am going to tell you about one of the crew members.

Rene Limjuco is the Third Mate. He grew up in the central islands of the Philippines and attended a government owned school where he learned about the benefits of hard work. An Italian shipping company offered Rene financial assistance for continuing his education until he completed his bachelors degree in Marine Transportation, majoring in Nautical Studies. After graduation, he gained valuable experience working on different types of ships, doing many different jobs. This allowed him to work his way up from Deck Cadet to Chief Mate. On the JR, Rene is Third Mate and has several responsibilites, such as, keeping the ship positioned over drilling sites, making sure that we are clear of ship traffic during transits, and that all of the safety equipment is working properly.

When not working aboard the ship, he spends quality time with his family. He has a 4 year old daughter, a 10 month old son, and his wife, who is a physician specializing in Family Medicine. He also spends time organizing events for his maritime school alumni association.