Gavin Chensue ('06)

Research/Electrical Engineer

Gavin attended the University of Michigan College of Engineering from 2006-2011, and in 2012 was accepted into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. 

When asked what brought him to NOAA, Gavin replied, “I have always enjoyed scientific fieldwork. What the NOAA Corps does is operate the research ships and aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Corps also fills administrative and liaison positions between various scientific agencies around the United States. We spend time making science happen in the field, which is exactly what I love doing.”

After spending about three years on an ocean-floor mapping ship, Gavin was assigned as the Station Chief of the Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in American Samoa. The Baseline Observatory is one of six observatories owned and operated by the Global Monitoring Division of NOAA's Earth Systems Research Laboratories. The mission of the Global Monitoring Division is to understand, through long-term observations, the changing of the Earth's climate. As the sole employee at the Samoa Observatory, his duties are to take daily measurements, air samples, and to keep the instruments operational. After spending a year in American Samoa, Gavin spent a year "wintering over" at the South Pole Observatory (Amundsen-Scott Station).

“I feel my Steiner education gave me a love for the hands-on aspects of life. I love to get involved and see what's around the next corner. More than anything, however, Steiner education gave me a taste of everything. When I was a lost college sophomore who didn't want to pursue computer science anymore, I could fall back and say, ‘What did I really enjoy studying?’  What came to mind was studying weather and geology with Geoff Robb (RSSAA HS Faculty member). From there I ended up getting a degree in Earth Systems Engineering and here I am today!”