John Albertson

Christopher Atkinson

Brennan Bajdek

Landon Bell

Piotr Bojakowski

Originally from Poland, Piotr Bojakowski has been a doctoral student at Texas A&M University for over three years. He specializes in early modern and Atlantic underwater archaeology and shipbuilding, hull reconstruction, maritime history, and preservation of artifacts recovered from underwater sites. He has participated in numerous surveys and excavations in Northern and Mediterranean Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.

Together with another Research Associate, Katie Custer, he currently co-directs two INA projects in Bermuda: the Western Ledge Reef Wreck Project, and the Warwick Project. The first involves post excavation analysis and research on the late 16th-century Western Ledge Reef Wreck. A prime example of Iberian and Atlantic shipbuilding tradition, this project will be published as Bojakowski’s doctoral dissertation and open a way for subsequent reconstruction and preservation of the hull remains. The second project involves a reconnaissance survey and potential future excavations of English race-built galleon Warwick, which wrecked in Bermuda in 1619. Originally belonging to the Earl of Warwick and reportedly used to fight off the Spanish Armada in 1588, Warwick was later sold to the Virginia Company to transport goods and settlers to Jamestown. 

Eloise Brackenridge Eilert

Eloise Brackenridge Eilert is a doctoral candidate in the Nautical Archaeology Program, specializing in the conservation of organic artifacts.   Her dissertation focuses on new methods in the conservation of severely damaged paper.  She received a B.A. in Anthropology from University of Colorado-Boulder, and a Masters degree in Anthropology from Northern Illinois University for her research on Iron Age ceramics from Sicily using neutron activation analysis.

Heather Brown

Heather Brown is currently completing her Master’s thesis on lead ingots and other lead-related cargoes from ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a double major in Latin and Classical Civilizations in 1993. After a decade of working in the “real world,” she decided to pursue her first love of classical archaeology. Since becoming part of the Nautical Archaeology Program, she has participated in a wide range of excavations, including the steamship Heroine in Fort Towson, Oklahoma, a Hellenistic marble carrier at Kızılburun, Turkey, the Phoenician wreck at Bajo de la Campana, Spain, and the survey and recording of an interwar-period airplane in Indonesia.

Her primary interests are in ancient metallurgy, long-distance trade, and the organization and management of natural resources in the ancient Mediterranean. She hopes to pursue doctoral work related to the economic, political and social effects of the production and trade of metals in the ancient world.

Carlos Cabrera Tejedor

Carlos Cabrera Tejedor is currently pursuing his MA. He is from Madrid, Spain, where he received two Bachelors Degrees in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Goods (specialties in Archaeology and Painting). For the last ten years, he has participated in conservation projects, underwater and terrestrial surveys and excavations throughout the Mediterranean.

As Founder President of the Spanish National Association of Professionals in Underwater Archaeology (www.apasub.org) he organized several national experts´ round tables and underwater archaeology courses in Spain. Currently, after finishing a re-conservation research project at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, he directs the study of the wooden remains of a 7th century B.C. Phoenician vessel: Mazarrón 1.

Finally, Carlos has received a number of scholarships and fellowships in support of his studies from institutions including the Spanish Ministry of Culture, and the Marian M. Cook fellowship of Institute of Nautical Archaeology.

Lilia Campana

José Luis Casaban

Chris Cartellone

Chris Cartellone is pursuing his doctorate in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University. He earned a master's degree in Maritime Studies from East Carolina University in 2003. Chris has since spent the past several years conducting and directing all phases of archaeological investigations on terrestrial sites largely throughout the Midwestern United States for various private CRM firms. Additionally, he has maritime archaeological experience on projects in Florida, North Carolina, Bermuda, Canada, Ghana, Nevis, and Puerto Rico.

Last summer Chris explored a newly discovered wreck, believed to be HMS Solebay, lost in 1782 during the Battle of Frigate Bay against the French. Chris will return to Nevis in 2011 to complete a nonintrusive documentation of Solebay. While there he will utilize remote sensing technologies to survey the lee side of Nevis for underwater cultural resources. His primary research interests include European Imperialism, War and Society, Long-Distance Exchange, and Social Identity studied through a lens of Seafaring and Maritime Security.

Marilyn Cassedy

Marilyn is a Masters student in the NAP program who graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2008 with a double major in Ancient Greek and Environmental Studies. Her interests lie in the Late Bronze Age and Classical periods, although she has worked in the field at sites both on land and underwater, and as late as the Byzantine period. Marilyn's current research is focused on a prosopographical study of the shipwrights of the ancient world. By developing a better understanding of these men and their place in Greek and Roman society, she hopes to shed new light on maritime personnel in the classical world.

Marilyn has participated in two of the Nautical Archaeology Program’s recent excavations in Turkey at the Hellenistic column carrying ship at Kizilburun and the 50th anniversary excavation at Cape Gelidonya. She also coordinates a series of Brown Bag lectures in the Anthropology Department during the school year, and has participated in a scholarly exchange program with the University of Texas at Austin’s Classic’s Department.

Alexis Catsambis

Alexis Catsambis is pursuing a doctorate degree in the Nautical Archaeology Program of Texas A&M University. He received a Joint Honours Bachelors Degree in Ancient History and Archaeology & Modern Greek Studies from the University of Birmingham (U.K.). In the field, he has participated in underwater and terrestrial surveys and excavations throughout the Mediterranean. His practical experience in underwater archaeology ranges from conventional visual surveys in Lagos (Portugal) and Kas (Turkey) to a number of deep-water surveys in Calabria (Italy) and the Aegean (Greece), and from the excavation of a Roman navis lapidaria off the coast of Kizilburun (Turkey) and the Mardi Gras deep-water excavation (Gulf of Mexico), to directing the mapping of part of the submerged port of Alexandria (Egypt). At the same time, Alexis has authored a number of articles and presentations regarding laws, historical reports, ship reconstructions and the latest technology as they apply to the field. He has also been involved with the conservation and digital reconstruction of sites and artifacts and has served as an intern with the Warren Lasch Conservation Center (USA) and the NATO Undersea Research Centre (Italy). Finally, Alexis has acted as a consultant to museums and state authorities and has received a number of scholarships and fellowships in support of his studies from institutions including the Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology.

Nina Chick

Megan Collier

Katie Custer-Bojakowski

Katie Custer-Bojakowski is a doctoral candidate in the Nautical Archaeology Program specializing in early modern Atlantic seafaring and shipbuilding traditions. Her dissertation bridges the gap between the humanities and sciences through the statistical analysis of the caravel, the galleon, and the nau in the iconographic record. Katie and fellow research associate, Piotr Bojakowski, are co-directors of the Western Ledge Reef Wreck Project, and the Warwick Project. Their work involves further research on the Iberian-Atlantic shipbuilding philosophy, as well as coordinating the future preservation of the hull remains of the Western Ledge Reef Wreck through the Bermuda Maritime Museum. In preparation for future excavations, Katie and Piotr recently conducted a reconnaissance survey of the Warwick, an English race-built galleon which wrecked while at anchor in Castle Harbour, Bermuda during a hurricane in 1619. The Warwick is not only a prime example of late 16th-century naval warships, but also of the early 17th-century ships that played a fundamental role in supplying the English settlements in North America. Originally belonging to the Earl of Warwick, the Warwick was later sold to the Virginia Company to transport goods and settlers to Jamestown.

John Eastlund

Coral Eginton

Coral Eginton graduated from University of California, San Diego in 2007 with a B.A. in Anthropological Archaeology and Religious Studies. Throughout her undergraduate education she maintained an internship at the San Diego Museum of Man as an analyst in the zooarchaeology lab. Prior to enrolling in the Nautical Archaeology program at Texas A&M, she spent two seasons working as the GIS lab supervisor for the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project in Jordan, under the direction of Tom E. Levy (UCSD).

Coral’s current research focuses on shipboard medicine during the medieval and early modern periods. For her thesis work, she will spend the fall of 2010 at the Western Australian Museum analyzing the contents of three surgeon’s chests from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) shipwrecks Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draak (1656), and Zeewijk (1727).

Aside from her work on shipboard medicine, Coral is also interested in the applications of digital archaeology. This past summer she participated in the Bajo de la Campana Shipwreck Excavation where she was the GIS lab technician.

Peter Fix

Michael Gilbart

Donovan Griffin

Donovan Griffin is pursuing his M.A. in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University. Prior to coming to Texas A&M he spent several years working as a commercial diver specializing in underwater ship maintenance. He has also worked in the Gulf of Mexico on saturation operations and general oil field dive support. In 2004 Donovan returned to school where he received his B.A. of Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma. 

Currently Donovan’s studies are focused on “Deep Submergence Archaeology” and conservation. He is a research assistant at the Conservation Research Lab where he is working on artifacts recovered from deep water wrecks. Donovan is also involved in several ongoing projects. These include the “Danaos Project”, a deep water survey looking for Bronze Age shipwrecks around Crete, headed by Dr. Shelly Wachsmann. Also, Donovan is an active researcher in association with INA on the “Ghost Wreck” project in the Baltic Sea. The goals of this research include identification of the vessel, survey of area, and formation of a site map using remote survey techniques. Chemical analysis of wood samples recovered from site will also be looked at to determine structural integrity of ship. This data will be analyzed to determine the possibility of recovering the vessel by using advanced saturation techniques.

Chad Gulseth

Heather Hatch

Heather Hatch is pursuing her PhD at Texas A&M University, focusing her research on the nature of maritime communities as expressed through their material culture. Her interests in this area developed from her MA Thesis investigating the archaeology of piracy in the eighteenth century, undertaken at East Carolina University and completed in 2006.

Her current INA supported project, the Harbour Island Archaeological Survey, is a terrestrial survey of a Bahamian community founded in the seventeenth century aimed at understanding the material culture patterning of maritime communities in a British Atlantic context. Excavation work at Harbour Island will form the core of her dissertation research at A&M. 

Courtney Higgins

Courtney Higgins is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Nautical Archaeology. She received her B.A. degree in Anthropology from the University of Denver and has spent the majority of her career working on prehistoric to historic sites in the eastern U.S., the Northwestern Plains, and the Great Basin. Presently, her research interests include both ancient and Renaissance Mediterranean vessels. For the last two summers she participated in the underwater excavation of the Kizilburun Roman Column Shipwreck, though her thesis research focuses on Renaissance Venetian commercial galleys.

Douglas Inglis

A convert to nautical archaeology, Doug Inglis comes from Colorado with a background in high-altitude survey and excavation. He has worked on projects in Rocky Mountain National Park, North Park and pipelines crossing Colorado and Wyoming. Doug received a B.A. in Religious Studies from The Colorado College in 2006 and a B.A. in Anthropology from The University of Northern Colorado in 2008.

Doug is interested in dhows, pearl fishing and changes to Indian Ocean shipbuilding traditions during the Age of Discovery. Currently, you can find him working at Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Laboratory, where he is most likely covered in dirt and very happy.

Rebecca Ingram

Heather Jones

Heather Jones is a current M.A. student in the Nautical Archaeology program at Texas A&M University.  Prior to her graduate work, she graduated from Trinity University, San Antonio, with  B.A. in Psychology and a Minor in Medieval & Renaissance Studies in 2007.  She has participated in both terrestrial and nautical excavations, most recently the Anthony Wayne 2009 field season.

Her thesis research is centered around analysis of the personal possessions from Heroine, a 19th century steamboat excavated on the Red River, OK by Dr. Kevin Crisman (Texas A&M University) in conjunction with the Oklahoma Historical Society from 2003 - 2008.  Besides her thesis research, she works as a research assistant managing the Heroine artifact assemblage.

Research interests include conservation issues and Early-19th American century material culture, especially as it relates to shipboard life.  Currently, she has undertaken a personal conservation project to stabilize and conserve a collection of iron and brass artifacts from the La Villita Earthworks excavation (41BX677), which was completed in 1985 as part of work around the Alamo in San Antonio, TX.  She is also interested in the management and application of existing archaeological collections with regards to pubic education and research, especially through web-based mediums and databases.

Michael Jones

Meko Kofahl

Bradley Krueger

Brad Krueger is enrolled in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University where he is pursuing his Master's degree. Brad received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2005 specializing in Anthropological Archaeology, and has several years of archaeological experience. He has worked on a variety of terrestrial and underwater sites throughout the United States, including Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Brad's research interests include Great Lakes maritime history, historical archaeology, wooden shipbuilding, and early American steamboats.

Currently, Brad is working with the Great Lakes Historical Society, Texas A&M University, the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, and the Institute for Nautical Archaeology to record and analyze the remains of the Anthony Wayne, a mid 19th-century passenger and cargo steamboat that sank in Lake Erie in 1850.

A preliminary field season was conducted over a three and a half week period in summer 2008 to record all structural components above the lake bottom.  Field excavations on the Anthony Wayne commenced in July 2009, which has led to the discovery of one of the earliest archaeological examples of marine engine on the Great Lakes.

Ryan Curtiss Lee

Ryan is a Masters student in the Nautical Archaeology program, hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He finished his Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Anthropology and Classical Studies from the University of Alberta in 2007. During his undergraduate career, Ryan worked at terrestrial sites in Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Greece. Ryan's interests include transportation means, especially ships, seafaring, and ship building ranging from the ancient to the modern. His thesis research focuses on transitions in rigging elements and related equipment in the ancient Mediterranean. Since entering the Nautical Archaeology Program in 2007, he has participated in the excavation and recording of Byzantine shipwrecks at Yenikapi, in Istanbul and the 50th Anniversary season at Cape Gelidonya, Turkey.

In addition, Ryan is interested in the application of 3D modeling, scanning, and printing in archaeological reconstructions and conservation.

John Littlefield

John graduated from College of Charleston with a B.S. in Anthropology/Archaeology. He has worked on a number of terrestrial projects including the colonial occupation of Charles Town Landing in South Carolina (2006-2007), the Göksu Archaeological Project in central Turkey (2006), and the excavation of the Athenian Agora in Greece (2007).

John is an avid diver with over 500 dives recorded thus far. From 2005-2007, he was a diver at the South Carolina Aquarium and from 2008 to 2009 was president of the Archaeological Diving Club at Texas A&M University. He was certified through Scuba Schools International (SSI) and currently holds the ranks of Rescue Diver (2005) and Dive Master (2010). In 2010, John also obtained instructors certifications for CPR/First Aid (ARC) and Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries (DAN). During 2009 and 2010 John served as an intern for the Divers Alert Network (DAN).

In the fall of 2007, John entered the Nautical Archaeology Program and participated in the Kızılburun Shipwreck Excavations in 2009 as both excavator and Dive Safety Officer. In 2010 he returned to Turkey for the re-excavation of the Bronze Age Cape Gelidonya shipwreck, again serving as both excavator and Dive Safety Officer.

He is currently living in Turkey and writing his M.A. thesis based on the recording, analysis and interpretation of the Hellenistic period Kızılburun marble carrier.(2008-present).

In addition to a B.S. in Anthropology/Archaeology, John has earned certificates in Maritime Conservation from Texas A&M University and Dendrochronology from the University of Arizona.

Maureen Merrigan

Maureen Merrigan is pursuing her Masters degree at Texas A&M in Nautical Archaeology. She graduated from Boston University in 2008 with a degree in Archaeology. Prior to enrolling at Texas A&M, she was the Membership Coordinator for the Archaeological Institute of America at their Boston headquarters.

Maureen has worked on terrestrial sites in both Italy and Spain, most recently working at a pre-Roman domestic structure at Torre d’en Galmes, Menorca. Her research interests include western Mediterranean trade and settlement as well as artifact conservation.

Veronica Moriss

William Moser

Justin Parkoff

Justin is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University. After receiving a B.A. in History from Texas A&M University, he is continuing his studies in the Nautical Archaeology Program where he is focusing on the conservation of submerged archaeological resources and the preservation of cultural heritage sites. His dissertation research interests include the exploration and management of historic sites along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Currently, Justin is working at the Texas A&M Conservation Research Laboratory where he is assisting with the analysis and conservation of the Civil War Gunboat U.S.S. Westfield that was recovered from Galveston Bay.

In addition to modern historical archaeology, Justin is also interested in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. As a continuation of his studies in the preservation of cultural heritage sites, his Master’s thesis details and reconstructs Babylon during the Chaldean dynasty in the form of an architectural model.

Neil Puckett

Neil Puckett is a master’s student enrolled in the Nautical Archaeology Program. He received a dual Bachelor’s in Anthropology and Philosophy at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2006. He worked in CRM with Far Western Anthropological from 2006 to 2009 all over Nevada, California, Oregon, and Utah. Having been intimately involved on a myriad of projects, he has worked on sites ranging from Paleoindian habitations to Historic railroads and has experience including survey, excavation, and report production. Professional contributions to archaeology include several project reports and a paper given at the 2008 Great Basin Archaeology Conference. His interests included prehistoric to ancient old world technologies and trade including the advent and use of ships, trade routes, and technological cultural exchange.

Kimberly Rash

Kelby Rose

Kelby Rose is a Ph.D. student in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University.  He received his B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Minnesota.  While at A&M he has been active in working with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology on the STACHEM project, which seeks to improve the infrastructure required to conduct underwater archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Kelby’s primary research interest is the shipbuilding and seafaring of the Netherlands in the 17th century.  In particular, his dissertation research focuses on Dutch methods of ship design and naval architecture, with a special emphasis on the hull form design method used to construct Vasa, the Dutch-built Swedish warship of 1628.  Other interests include the technological, cultural, and economic aspects of the Dutch East India trade.

Randall Sasaki

Randall Sasaki was born in Yokohama; the largest port city in Japan. His parents first met on a Trans-Pacific Liner, and growing up near the harbor where Commodore Matthew Perry stepped ashore in 1853 might have something to do with Sasaki's career choice. Sasaki has always been fascinated by how archaeology can trace past human behavior and how people from different cultures interacted.

His main subject of study is East Asian seafaring and shipbuilding history from the period of the Song to Ming dynasties when China was the maritime superpower of the world. He has conducted several research projects in Japan, including the hull timber analysis from the island of Takashima where the ill-fated fleet of Kublai Khan was crushed by the strong typhoon known as Kamikaze, or divine wind. This project became his master's thesis, which he completed in 2008. Sasaki’s current project includes yet another failed Mongol invasion in Vietnam. He is proud to be a member of the Asian Research Institute of Underwater Archaeology in Japan and is keen on building an international cooperative effort to promote the study of nautical archaeology in Asia.

George Schwarz

After earning his B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Cincinnati, George Schwarz enrolled in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University (TAMU). As a graduate student he worked in the Conservation Research Laboratory and participated in several projects including INA shipwreck surveys in Portugal and wreck excavations in Oklahoma, Turkey, and Japan. He also directed a shipwreck survey in the Algarve and served as divemaster for INA projects in Oklahoma and Portugal. Specializing in early-modern Iberian ship construction, he received his M.A. from TAMU in May 2008.

Upon graduation, George began working for the Naval Historical Center's Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB). As part of the UAB team, he conducts naval ship and aircraft research, surveys, and excavations, manages the UAB Conservation Laboratory, and handles U.S. Navy cultural resource management for underwater sites.

Currently in pursuit of his Ph.D. at TAMU, George is directing an INA project documenting America’s earliest-known steamboat wreck, which sank after catching fire on Lake Champlain in 1819. The recording of Phoenix’s hull remains will take place in summer 2009, and, combined with research recently conducted in Vermont and New York archives, will contribute to our knowledge of the age of emerging steam technology in America.

Daniel Scott

Catherine Sincich

Jessica Stika

J. Haley Streuding

Lindsey Thomas

Lindsey earned her B.A. in Anthropology with a focus in Underwater Archaeology from the Honor’s Program at the University of Georgia.  Prior to beginning her M.A. work at Texas A&M, she worked at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. 

Lindsey’s thesis work explores the A.J. Goddard, a Klondike Gold Rush stern-wheeler in the Yukon Territory.  She is now the director of the Yukon River Survey: A.J. Goddard Project along with INA Research Associate John Pollack.  Her previous work includes research into the site formation processes that affect shipwrecks in dynamic tropical and near-arctic environments, along with a survey of the Great Lakes schooner Portland. 

As a result of her work with NOAA, she is particularly interested in maritime heritage and the protection of our historic resources.

Andrew Thomson

Rodrigo Torres

Amanda Vance

Amanda graduated from Texas A&M University at Galveston in 2007 with a B.A. in Maritime Studies (minor in Anthropology). She is pursing a Ph.D. in Nautical Archaeology, with a focus on archaeological conservation. Her research focuses on a collection from King's Mountain National Park, for which she has been doing the conservation for almost a year. The collection includes some unique materials such as an oil painting.

Krissy Vogel

Laura White

Laura White is a PhD student in the Nautical Archaeology Program. She previously received her MSc in Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford in 2010, and prior to that completed a BSc in Marine Sciences and a BA in Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She has terrestrial fieldwork experience in Viking Shetland sites, Roman Yorkshire sites, and in historical sites in Texas.

Laura’s research interests are in ancient ship construction, and more specifically in the applications of analytical chemistry to the discipline. Her dissertation research under the advisiorship of Dr. Cemal Pulak focuses on the chemical characterization of residues such as paints, pigments, resins, tars, and oils used in the decoration and preservation of ancient hulls through the use of high-performance analytical techniques such as SEM, GC-MS, HPLC-MS, IR and Raman spectroscopy.

Laura is active in diving safety and education; she is a NAUI Openwater SCUBA Instructor and a NAUI First Aid, CPR, and Emergency O2 Administration Instructor. She works as the TAMU Assistant Diving Safety Officer and co-instructs scientific diving classes. She will be working as the DSO for the 2011 season of INA’s Bajo de la Campana Phoenician shipwreck project in Spain, and will be participating in the 2011 season of the Mazotos project, a classical shipwreck off the coast of Cyprus.

Staci Willis

Shane Winter

Katherine Worthington

Kotaro Yamafune