Last week was my first time aboard R/V Roger Revelle, named for the legendary Scripps Oceanography scientist who warned the world about the link between CO2 and a warming planet. This ship has carried scientists across the globe for three decades to advance understanding of the ocean and our planet.

Asteroids aren't just space hazards. They're the leftover scraps from building the planets. 🌌 In a Q&A for #AsteroidDay, #NASmember Meenakshi Wadhwa (@minwadhwa.bsky.social) broke down stardust, planet-building, and what asteroid samples reveal about our origins: nasonline.org/news/a-conve...

Why is #space so fascinating? 🪐🤩 Scripps Director @minwadhwa.bsky.social shares her thoughts with @ucsandiego.bsky.social. ✨ "As I see it, space exploration isn’t about escaping from Earth. It’s one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding and benefiting our home planet," she said.

Why Is Space So Fascinating?

We all tuned in when the Artemis II crew splashed down off the San Diego coast. Planetary scientist and academic leader Meenakshi Wadhwa shares her thoughts on why space captures our imaginations so w...

today.ucsd.edu

🎤 Get to know @minwadhwa.bsky.social, director of Scripps Oceanography at @ucsandiego.bsky.social! She sat down with @nbcsandiego.com to chat about why she loves science, innovative Scripps research & more as part of their People You Should Know series. ⤵️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLYIzrBSCyc

People You Should Know: Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa and the Mission to Protect Our Planet | NBC 7 San Diego

YouTube video by NBC 7 San Diego

youtube.com

🪸 Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Wangpraseurt on receiving the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Faculty Innovation Award! What Daniel and his team are doing is nothing short of remarkable: developing scalable solutions for one of the planet’s most urgent ecological crises. Learn more at: hybridreefs.com

6 months since I arrived at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and I can honestly say that on most days there have been moments like this one, filled with awe and absolute wonder! What you are seeing here is a baby red octopus at Birch Aquarium… first time hatched, raised & settled in an aquarium!

The four-astronaut crew of NASA’s Artemis II flew to the far side of the moon and set a record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human. https://to.pbs.org/4cf655P

Artemis II crew breaks distance record on mission around far side of moon

The four-astronaut crew of NASA’s Artemis II flew to the far side of the moon and set a record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human. Monday's seven-hour lunar flyby was the most ...

to.pbs.org

The launch of Artemis 2 was profoundly moving… to see humanity go FORWARD to the Moon again after more than 50 yrs! I hope another generation is inspired to go explore and discover and innovate, to be the best that humans can be — and ultimately be inspired to be better stewards of our own planet.

It was an honor to welcome UC Regent Maria Anguiano to our @scrippsocean.bsky.social campus where she saw the incredible work being done here, including the impactful work at the Tijuana river, robotic exploration of the ocean, and AI-driven visualization of coral reefs for conservation efforts.

Incredible couple of days in Sacramento meeting with our CA representatives. Hope to strengthen @scrippsocean.bsky.social partnerships to increase our coastal, water, and wildfire resilience and to support the health and wellbeing of communities in our great state of California (and the planet!).

So #OSM26 in Glasgow is off to a great start with a fantastic plenary talk by Britney Schmidt— Icefin is so cool! Makes me wish for the day we will have such a robotic oceanographer in the ocean on Europa.

We are looking for innovative and broad-thinking faculty colleagues to join us in understanding and protecting our planet! (And stay tuned for more faculty opportunities to come in the near future…) apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04460

Marine Natural Products/Marine Biotechnology - Assistant Professor

University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!

apol-recruit.ucsd.edu

Congratulations to @helen-amanda.bsky.social and her team for the selection of the EDGE mission as @ucsandiego.bsky.social’s first PI-led NASA mission! today.ucsd.edu/story/uc-san...

Congratulations to Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Prof. Veerabhadran Ramanathan! I got to know Ram after arriving at Scripps (unfortunately do not overlap with him at U Chicago), and just love how he is still so energized and motivated by his science.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🏅Congratulations to @ucsandiego.bsky.social & Scripps Oceanography climate scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan for earning the prestigious Crafoord Prize — one of the world’s most prestigious science awards given by @scienceacademyswe.bsky.social! ➡️ Learn more: bit.ly/3NKC8lC

Is that lumpfish the cutest thing you ever saw?! Got to shake hands with an octopus (I know I’ll be visiting him frequently!) and see some incredible things at our experimental aquarium facilities — just another day here @scrippsocean.bsky.social

Heading home after a few days in Davos. Grateful for the opportunity to talk about the ocean, climate and sustainability, space and exploration with leaders from so many different sectors.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🌍 Scripps Oceanography Director @minwadhwa.bsky.social is at the @weforum.org Annual Meeting, joining global leaders to spotlight the role of ocean action in addressing climate change. At #AM26, she is sharing insights on the latest state of climate science & why investing in our ocean is essential.

Today marks exactly 100 days since I joined @scrippsocean.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social. It felt like a bit of a celebration to walk on Scripps’ campus today and feel moved by all the incredible science-inspired art works that are like little gems tucked in unexpected places!

First sunset from my office @scrippsocean.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social at the start of Winter Quarter. Here’s to a year of chasing new and amazing discoveries just beyond the horizon and finding magic in everyday moments. Happy New Year!

This week’s absolute highlight was a tour of @scrippsocean.bsky.social’s RV Sally Ride - with @astrodocscott.bsky.social who operated Sally Ride’s KidSat payload on STS-86. This research vessel is a scientific & technological marvel, enabling tremendous ocean & seafloor measurements and sampling!

Spotted Santa delivering presents underwater @birchaquarium.bsky.social yesterday. Happy holidays from @scrippsocean.bsky.social!

Halloween celebrations @scrippsocean.bsky.social — ghosts, cool canines and a new variety of dogfish!

My first 3 weeks on the job at @scrippsocean.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social have flown by - learning about the amazing people who work here (including those pictured here from our world-class scientific diving program and ship operations) and the amazing things that we do here.

I think I met my first native San Diegan today @birchaquarium.bsky.social … a gorgeous rosy boa! Also met Rusty, a handsome bearded dragon. Birch is a truly magical place.

#ICYMI, we shared some big news this week! 🎉 Scripps Institution of Oceanography at @ucsandiego.bsky.social is proud to welcome esteemed Earth and planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa as the 12th director of our institution. 🪐 Hear directly from Dr. Wadhwa in this video: youtu.be/lbFLXM6BBbI?...

Introducing Meenakshi Wadhwa, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego

YouTube video by Scripps Oceanography

youtu.be

So excited to be here to serve the @scrippsocean.bsky.social community, and advance our mission to understand and protect our planet!

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Learn more about @minwadhwa.bsky.social’s impressive career and what she’s looking forward to in her new role. scripps.ucsd.edu/news/scripps...

Amazed by Gaudi’s city…

Tantalizing— but needs confirmation through careful analyses in laboratories in Earth. This is why we must bring back the samples that Perseverance has so carefully documented and collected!

Nature@nature.com · 11mo ago

Nature research paper: Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars go.nature.com/4n0h3Am

Dubai at night… including amazing views of and from the top of Burj Khalifa!

Snapshots from a memorable penultimate week in AZ… (picture of the Haboob courtesy of @astrodocscott.bsky.social & that of the gorgeous cake thanks to Kim Baptista)!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to thank my long-time AZ friends and colleagues @seseasu.bsky.social for the many wonderful years of camaraderie, collaborations, and friendship I’ve enjoyed here. Definitely one of my best career and life decisions to come here 19+ years ago!