Benjamin Ankiri, a first-year Master’s degree student supervised by Prof. Barak Herut and Dr. Eyal Rahav, takes part in a joint sailing of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Centre – An Early-Warning Model-System for our Future Ocean. It is an international partnership between the Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, led by Prof. Ilana Berman-Frank, and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, led by Prof. Eric Achterberg.

“My Master’s research includes sampling the air and dyeing the samples to see which of the bacteria collected in the air are alive, and which are dead. The research cruise in which I participated was a perfect continuation of this work”, Benjamin says. “During the sailing, I continued the sampling; I also detected where the collected bacteria came from and took genetics and nutrients tests, which are critical for my research”.

Apart from Benjamin, Haifa’s team included Prof. Yizhaq Makovsky, Prof. Barak Herut, Dr. Tamar Guy-Haim (Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research), Dr. Or Bialik, Dr. Henriette Wilkins, and students Tom Reich, Merav Gilboa, Alon Blachinsky, and Winnie Bett. “It was an absolute honor for me to be a part of such team of professionals”, Benjamin admits. “I enjoyed exploring climate change’s impact on the oceans and navigating their future. Plus, this research cruise perfectly fit my hobby – I am a skipper and sail with my friends in my free time”.

However, open-air projects and interesting projects are not the only things Benjamin loves about the Department of Marine Geosciences. “I just love the Department community and the diversity among students – both in terms of scientific, social, and national background. I have heard a phrase once that perfectly describes such situation: our differences make our strength. So the Department is such a successful research and academic body exactly because it consists of such different people”.

Benjamin loves being in this community so much that he even contemplates continuing his studies beyond the Master’s level, planning to apply for a PhD position.