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Roane State educators complete record-breaking 73-day underwater stay

Posted at 11:25 pm December 17, 2014
By Roane State Community College Leave a Comment

Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain Surface

Roane State professors Jessica Fain and Bruce Cantrell enjoy their first moments of sunlight after living underwater for 73 days. (Photos by Roane State Community College) 

 

KEY LARGO, Florida—After a record-breaking 73 days living underwater, two local college professors surfaced Monday and enjoyed the feel of sunlight for the first time in more than two months.

They also celebrated the end of their mission to educate the public about ocean conservation, to inspire young people’s interest in science, and to make history.

Biology professor Bruce Cantrell and adjunct professor Jessica Fain from Roane State Community College in East Tennessee spent the fall living and working in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, an underwater habitat on Key Largo in Florida. Their underwater stay lasted 73 days, two hours, and 34 minutes, breaking the world record for longest time spent living underwater.

The two educators submerged October 3 at 12:08 p.m. EDT and surfaced on Monday, December 15, at 1:42 p.m. EST.

“There is a sun,” Cantrell said with a laugh as he and Fain broke the surface of the water. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, College, Education, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Cantrell, Classroom Under the Sea, Florida, Jessica Fain, Jules' Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, living underwater, marine biologist, Marine Resources Development Foundation, ocean conservation, Richard Presley, Roane State Community College, science, Sylvia Earle, Tektite, underwater stay, world record

Roane State’s Fain sets record for female living underwater

Posted at 10:21 pm October 29, 2014
By Roane State Community College Leave a Comment

Jessica Fain

Jessica Fain

As Roane State Community College educators Jessica Fain and Bruce Cantrell pursue a world record for longest time spent living underwater, Fain has already made her mark.

Cantrell, a biology professor, and Fain, an adjunct professor, are living and working in an underwater habitat—Jules’ Undersea Lodge on Key Largo in the Florida Keys—for 73 days.

Cantrell, an expert in the history of underwater habitats, noted that Fain has set the record for a female living underwater. The previous mark was 14 days, set in 1970 by renowned scientist Sylvia Earle and her team during their stay in the Tektite habitat. The Tektite program was the first nationally sponsored effort to place scientists in the sea to live.

As of Saturday, October 18, Fain and Cantrell had lived continuously underwater for 15 days. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Cantrell, Classroom Under the Sea, female living underwater, Florida Keys, Guinness World Records, Jessica Fain, Jules' Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, living underwater, longest time spent living underwater, Marine Resources Development Foundation, online lecture series, Richard Presley, Roane State, Sylvia Earle, underwater habitat, underwater habitats, world record

Roane State faculty members plan record-breaking underwater stay

Posted at 5:50 pm February 7, 2014
By Roane State Community College Leave a Comment

Jessica Fain Diving

Jessica Fain, an adjunct instructor at Roane State Community College, emerges from the moon pool at Jules’ Undersea Lodge. Fain has logged more than 100 hours in underwater habitats and labs. (Photos courtesy RSCC)

HARRIMAN—Two Roane State Community College faculty members plan to live and work under the surface of the sea for 72 days this fall.

While underwater, associate professor of biology Bruce Cantrell and adjunct instructor Jessica Fain will offer the most unique educational experience in the college’s history and raise awareness of issues affecting the oceans. During their stay, Cantrell and Fain will also set a world record for the longest time spent living underwater.

Roane State and the Marine Resources Development Foundation in Key Largo, Fla., are partnering on the Classroom Under the Sea project. Cantrell and Fain plan to start their underwater adventure Oct. 4 and resurface on Dec. 15. They will live in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, which is in the lagoon at the Marine Resources Development Foundation’s facilities.

“Roane State professors have taught in a variety of locations as part of our mission to bring higher education to the communities we serve,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. “What Bruce and Jessica are planning is certainly new territory. While their project is unique, their expertise, spirit of adventure and passion for teaching are representative of what make community colleges so special.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Education, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: biology, Bruce Cantrell, Chris Whaley, Classroom Under the Sea, coral reefs, diving, ecology, ecosystems, Guiness World Records, Ian Koblick, Jessica Fain, Jules Verne, Jules' Undersea Lodge, La Chalupa, Marine Resources Development Foundation, MarineLab, ocean, Reef Check Foundation, Richard Presley, Roane State Community College, science, scuba diver, sea, underwater, underwater adventure, underwater habitat, world record

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