RESEARCHER BIOS
Edith A. Widder, PhD •
widder@hboi.edu
Senior Scientist - Co-Principal Investigator
Bioluminescence Research - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
Edie Widder received her Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of California,
Santa Barbara in 1982. She joined Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in
1989 where she is now senior scientist and director of the Bioluminescence Department.
She also holds adjunct appointments at Johns Hopkins University, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute, Florida Atlantic University and Florida Institute of Technology.
Her research interests in bioluminescence developed out of her experience piloting
the single-person submersibles Wasp and Deep Rover. In 1984, working from Deep Rover,
she made the first video recordings of bioluminescence in the ocean and has been striving
to accurately quantify the phenomenon ever since. This enterprise has involved the
development of a number of instrument systems, including the HIDEX-BP on which she co-holds
the patent and which is now the standard in the U.S. Navy for measuring bioluminescence
in the world's oceans. She is also the developer of Eye-in-the-Sea, a deep-sea observatory
designed to record bioluminescence behaviors in the ocean. Besides being an author on over
50 peer-reviewed scientific publications, Dr. Widder has recently produced a children's
book on bioluminescence, "The Bioluminescence Coloring Book" and an award winning educational
video, "Bioluminescence: Secret Lights in the Sea".
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