The ocean is our classroom: A 4-year research track for undergraduate exploration, research and discovery in oceanography

Mitigating and adapting to climate change while the global human population continues its projected growth will be the dominant choice challenge confronting the present generation of undergraduates over their professional lifetimes. Today's students should be prepared to develop solutions that will involve the sea, but life-changing at-sea research experiences for undergraduates are limited. The rapid expansion of ocean observatories provides a solution. We have demonstrated in our own observatory how undergraduate student research can be enabled as a year-round activity during a student's full undergraduate career starting on day 1. What began as the Challenger Glider Mission has spread to other observatory technology and science activities both locally and in remote polar regions.