Thomas Jefferson, marine mammal biologist and co-director of the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation.
Age: 36.
Career path: Until I was 18, I lived in Ohio,far away from the ocean, but wasinterested in marine animals from a young age, particularly after watching the movie Day Of The Dolphin when I was 13. I got involved with organisations like Greenpeace while I was at school, and afterwards I did a biology degree at the University of California, followed by a master's and PhD in marine science.
I started work at Moss Landing Marine Labs in California and less than a year later moved to Hong Kong to conduct research. In 1995 I started a three-year research project, sponsored by the Agricultural and Fisheries Department, into Chinese white dolphins (more correctly known as the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin). I briefly returned to San Diego when my project funding ended in April, but was then offered a second contract to research the Hong Kong finless porpoise. I split my time between Hong Kong and San Diego, where I transcribe a lot of my data. When I am here I stay in the staff quarters at Ocean Park.
Jefferson's day: I have three kinds of days: field days, general research days and analysis days. On field days I am on the water by about 6 am. When we were studying the dolphins we spent most of our time around south Lantau, to study the porpoises we go to north Lantau. On a good day we observed the dolphins for two hours. Sometimes we didn't see them at all, but this was still valuable information because we were trying to ascertain the abundance of the animals in various locations.
I conduct research in an Ocean Park office. This involves library and computer work, catching up on correspondence and having meetings. I analyse data at home because I need absolute peace. I start early and spend most of the day at my computer.
My research into both dolphins and porpoises shows they are more numerous in local waters than we thought. The studies will give conservation efforts a head start because we know where they are and what is happening to them.