I am Curator Emeritus, formerly Curator of Navigation and Oceanography, at Royal Museums Greenwich. My research focuses on the Challenger Expedition (1872-76), nineteenth-century science, and the making of modern oceanography. I am the author of The Challenger Expedition: Exploring the Ocean’s Depths (National Maritime Museum, 2022), which offered a fresh look at this groundbreaking expedition during the 150th anniversary of its launch.

I am editor of Women in the History of Science: A Sourcebook (University College Press, 2023), which argues for a more inclusive and expansive history of science that includes not only famous discoveries but also the often overlooked labour of laboratory assistants, wives, artists, healers, authors, translators and others involved in the everyday production of knowledge. Women in the History of Science brings together primary sources that highlight women’s involvement in scientific knowledge production around the world. Drawing on texts, images and objects, each primary source is accompanied by an explanatory text, questions to prompt discussion, and a bibliography to aid further research. Arranged by time period, covering 1200 BCE to the twenty-first century, and across 12 inclusive and far-reaching themes, this book is an invaluable companion to students and lecturers alike in exploring women’s history in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, medicine and culture. The 473-page volume is available open access through UCL Press.

Looking ahead to 2027, I am excited to announce my most recent publication, ‘Treasures of the Deep’: The Faroe-Shetland Channel and the Making of Nineteenth-Century Oceanography’, a chapter in the forthcoming Sounding Scotland’s Waters, 1800-1900: History, Literature, Science, edited by Katie Garner & Asha Hornsby (Edinburgh University Press, expected 2027). Across fourteen chapters and a substantial introduction by Garner and Hornsby, Sounding Scotland’s Waters, 1800-1900 offers a rich array of interdisciplinary perspectives, providing scholars and readers with new insights into the history of Scotland in the 19th century, highlighting the enduring connection between Scottish science and culture to its watery environment, including fjords, lochs, coastlines, and, of my particular interest, the deep sea.

My research of the Challenger Expedition began in 2016 with a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council collaborative doctoral award with the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the Science and Technologies Studies Department at University College London (UCL). During my PhD studies, I undertook extensive original research into the Challenger Expedition, including as a research fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. In 2019, I was awarded a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science, complemented by an MSc in Environment, Science, and Society from UCL and a BA in Environmental Science from Boston University.

Before becoming a historian, I worked with environmental and community media organisations on issues including environmental justice and biodiversity. I moved to Britain from the United States in 2011 and enjoyed living in the London neighbourhoods of Hackney and Greenwich for several years. I now live in Wiltshire with my husband and an adorable cocker spaniel, Nelson.

The above photo was taken during a visit to Boston, Massachusetts. I loved taking a ferry trip from Long Wharf. The area’s rich maritime history is reflected in the compass rose embedded in the pier.