TED Senior Fellow Kristen Marhaver is a marine biologist studying the ecology, behavior and reproduction of reef corals.
Why you should listen
Dr. Kristen Marhaver's work combines classic scientific methods with new technologies to help threatened coral species survive their early life stages. She was the first person to rear juveniles of the endangered Caribbean Pillar Coral. Now she's now developing bacterial tools to improve coral survival at all life stages.
Marhaver's research has been covered by NPR, BBC, The Atlantic and Popular Science, among hundreds of outlets. She's earned five fellowships and grants from the US National Science Foundation and multiple awards for science communication. Marhaver is a TED Senior Fellow, a WINGS Fellow, and a World Economic Forum Young Scientist.
Outside the lab, Marhaver advocates for stronger ocean conservation and smarter science communication. Her talks and articles have been featured by Google, Wired UK, Mission Blue and by ocean and scuba festivals around the world.
A scuba diver from the age of 15, Marhaver is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her lab is based at the CARMABI Research Station on the island of Curaçao.
Kristen Marhaver’s TED Talks
More news and ideas from Kristen Marhaver
Science
A day in the life of baby coral
March 16, 2015
Each year in September, corals in the Caribbean stage a mass spawning event. Witnessing it, says marine biologist and TED Fellow Kristen Marhaver, is like swimming inside a snow globe. Here, she explains how corals beget corals -- and how she and her fellow scientists are trying to help them along.
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Dazzling in the deep: A Fellows Friday conversation with Asha de Vos, Kristen Marhaver and Colleen Flanigan
January 11, 2013
We asked three TED Fellows who work in the briny depths — whale researcher Asha de Vos, coral reef biologist Kristen Marhaver and artist Colleen Flanigan — to discuss how science and art are working in tandem to help the world fully appreciate our vanishing marine life. Describe what you do and what you’re working […]
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