Michael's undersea career began in 1998, pursuing a parallel professional development track in both scientific and commercial diving. This work has taken his from his home waters of New England, to the Caribbean, to Antarctica. Leveraging a unique mix of undersea expertise, an inventive personality,an affinity for writing, and an attraction for the arts, Michael finds himself involved in numerous projects, microventures, and consultancy activities in the ocean science & technology communities which span all humanities subjects. His creation of 'Ocean Opportunity', a 501(c)3 not for profit organization, has afforded the vehicle to apply his innovative, grassroots model for business and exploration to many projects. This website is a reflection of his portfolio. Just one notable recent success includes the Diving a Dream Project from 2004-2007 which was aired on NBC's Today Show in January 2007.

The pivotally inspirational moment in Michael's career was a 2002 field program in the Exumas, where he was coordinating among the first mixed-gas diving program under American Adademy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) auspices. At a depth of 300 feet, in less than 8-minutes of dive time, more than a dozen new marine species were discovered, nearly half of which were found to produce chemicals useful in combating cancer and other human conditions. The quest for 'the 9th minute' and all that stands to be gained from such exploration, then inspired the evolution of Ocean Opportunity in 2003 to shed light and a new public appeal on the value of human intervention of our oceans.

Michael is the former Diving Safety Officer for NOAA's Caribbean Marine Research Center, and has served as an advisor to the Advanced Diving Council for NOAA's Undersea Research Program (NURP). He presently serves on the Membership Committee for the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, and is an elected Board Member (2007-2010) to the Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments. Michael is a 1997 Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership (HOBY) award recipient, and was recognized among the top '20 to Watch' in the Providence Monthly's 2003 review of up and coming business leaders in the State of Rhode Island. He was also recognized in the 2006/07 Who's Who in Science & Engineering. In 2007, his work in exploration advocacy earned recognition as one of Rhode Island's '40 Under 40' by the Providence Business News. In late 2007, he earned membership in the prestigious Explorers Club.

Presently with more than 40 articles, journal publications, operational standards reviews, and technical documents published, with work featured on local and national NBC and Fox TV affiliates as well in local, regional, and national periodicals, over 1700 dives/1500+ hours, with numerous sub-200feet, utilizing every mode of diving available, and in the harshest extremes on this planet...Michael is on a mission to take exploration and its influences on science, technology, and society where it has not yet ventured...to terra incognita, embracing our global community along the way.

Michael remains a confident, yet struggling artist, environmnetalist, entrepreneur, and explorer in more ways than one, making his home in Providence, Rhode Island.

Portfolio

:: vitae
:: in the field

Creative Works

:: artistic works
:: literary works
:: film projects

You may have viewed my photojournalist works, or read about my projects in the following:

AARC Times
AAUS ‘the SLATE’
Advance for Managers of Respiratory Care
Alert Diver Magazine
CBS Channel 4 WCCO
CDNN
Dive Chronicles Magazine
Dive Newswire
Diver UK Magazine
Diving for Science AAUS Proceedings
Fox UPN 29
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology
Kent County Times
Keynoter
NAVYSEALS.com/BlackNET News
NBC's Today Show
NBC Channel 10 Providence
NBC KARE 11 Minneapolis St. Paul
NBC 7/39 San Diego
NBC WEAU 13 Wisconsin
NOAA Research Spotlight
New England Bulletin
Northeast Dive News
Ocean News & Technology
Pawtucket Times
Perry Currents
Proceedings of Underwater Intervention
Providence Business News
Quest Magazine
Scuba Diving Magazine
Scuba Herald
Scuba News Magazine
Sea Technology Magazine
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Stillwater Gazette
The Chronicle
The Providence Journal
The Providence Monthly
The Summit Journal
The Sun Chronicle
The UNH Connection
Underwater Magazine
Ventilator-Assisted Living
Warwick Times
Woodbury Bulletin