I’m Charoenkwan Kraiya. Most people call me Kay. I’m originally from Thailand and currently work as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. George Luther. During Extreme 2003, I will be involved in preparing and maintaining gold amalgam electrodes as well as employing them as a chemical sensor to measure chemical content at the hydrothermal vents.

What questions are you trying to answer and why?

It is interesting to better understand how living organisms survive in a severe environment where oxygen is depleted, the temperature rises to as high as 350°C, and there is no sunlight!! Chemosynthesis must take place, but how do we understand the ongoing chemical reactions and relate them to each living organism? Data from real-time simultaneous measurement of electrochemical species such as molecular oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, and iron monosulfide at the site where the biological organisms live can be a major key to understanding the role of each living organism in the system.

What’s your background and what lured you into marine science?

My undergraduate major was chemistry and I have my Ph.D. degree in electroanalytical chemistry. Applying the electrochemical techniques that I have learned into field work fascinates me, especially field work in marine science where it will never be deficient in salts. That is where electrochemistry fits nicely because electrolytes are needed for electrochemical studies!!