iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The VICAR lab is hiring! 🤖🪸 🧪 We are looking for a full-time Autonomous Systems Research Specialist to join the Virgin Islands Center for Autonomous Research (VICAR) in St. Thomas, USVI. Join the first robotics and AI lab in the US Caribbean. Apply by Sept 30: careers.uvi.edu/postings/9159

a Caribbean sunset with a autonomous underwater vehicle running along the waters surface in the distance.

011

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

My dive buddies Abi and Addy on our first unsupervised dive as newly certified megalodon rebreather helitrox decompression divers! 45m / 148 ft 🤙🏻 🤿 #technicaldiving #girlsthatscuba

051

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Beautiful! Reminds me of one of my favorite pics (not as lovely as your film photo)

110

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Seems pretty okay with opus 4.8 max.

000

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

🆘 Can someone help or advise on boosting to major outlets? I live in a US territory with a failing power grid. Daily outages, misleading communications and lies, yet our governor wont declare state of emergency. The community is screaming for help. Some posts from “what’s going on st thomas” on fb:

100

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Know anyone interested in coral reefs, AI, and robotics? 🤖🪸 And grad school in the Caribbean? The VICAR lab is seeking masters students interested in applying autonomous systems to marine science @the-vicar.bsky.social apply by March 1 ‼️ learn more about VICAR and MMES: tr.ee/vicar 🧪 🌊 🌱 🌎

0155

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Building a robotics and AI lab on a Caribbean island certainly has its challenges, but we are settling into our new home quite nicely! 👉🏻 follow @the-vicar.bsky.social if youre interested in robotics and AI for ecological conservation 🧪 #NSFfunded

3151

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Perks of working a little past 5☀️

051

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Quick detour on the way to work this morning

020

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Michael is jealous of this strategy, but also too shy to attempt it.

A half hidden brown tabby peeking out from behind a fridge

010

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Omg Monroe looks a lot like our late Julep. She was also several updates behind 🥲

000

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Michael does not approve of the robot hogging the couch. Sorry bud, firmware update. 🥺🧪

A cat looking longingly back at the camera, an underwater robot in his favorite spot.

0161

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

This is important research funded by #NSF looking at how sponge filter feeding changes the molecular makeup of seawater, with important implications for coral reefs and even bioremediation. Great to see continuation of my PhD research! And I’m glad they moved the lab indoors 👍🏻🤣 🧪

0251

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Evaporative cooling. Also most electricity is based on heating water to spin magnets around wires. Even then, LLMs aren’t bad for the environment in terms of water use. And it dangerous red herring for other issues - sincerely an environmental scientist. andymasley.substack.com/p/individual...

1131

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

The cherry on top of the dystopian sunday is paywalling articles about NSF grants being killed @science.org 🫠 🧪

A screenshot of an article in Science about nsf grants being killed by gov, with pop up notifying I have to pay 2.99 month to read it.

3749

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

thank you for your message I am out of office this week

080

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Good morning from a bright and early crossing from St. Thomas to St. Croix, USVI! We will be in St. Croix for a week conducting reef surveys to see the aftermath of bleaching last fall. More somber circumstances, but happy to be in the water with a great team #TCRMP

0101

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

If you look close, you can see the whale shark 📍 Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama 📸 Canon R5C

0121

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Hola from Panama! Glad to report the reefs aren’t as wrecked as everyone here was expecting after the heatwaves. Coral pics coming as soon as I empty the memory card 👀 Tmrw we cross the jungle to final destination: Coibita!

070

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Is it absolutely wild to anyone else that we are in a place where the natl park service is broadcasting cryptic codes messages from an “alt” account? I know altnps is not new, but still. It’s hard to imagine friendly folks in brown hats organizing an underground resistance but I hope they succeed!

120

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Does Ted Cruz realize his little audit has implicated his own Texas constituents for "advancing neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda" to the tune of over $150million in NSF grants, third highest behind "far-left" NY ($165mil) and Ca ($234mil)? www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/2/cruz-...

010

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I know its just a smokescreen for all the other ghoulish sh*t theyre doing, but seeing Gulf of America on official NHC website makes me want to throatpunch someone

1160

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Free to share with the invert nerd in your life 🧪 My contribution inspired by a ❤️heart shaped excavating sponge (Cliona/Cliothosa delitrix) we found a few years ago 😏😍 happy #valentines day

A valentine showing a photograph of a heart shaped red sponge with text saying "you bore into my heart"

0355

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

sometimes you go to the tire store and it’s 10$ to patch a hole, other times it’s 800$ for four new tires. Today it’s the latter. Good thing my job is totally secure and in no existential danger 😂

a white SUV in a garage on jacks with no back tires

120

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Our field tech cabinet is looking so good, and ready for robot no. 2! 🥳 🌸 🧪 #springcleaning

A cabinet in a science lab containing cameras, robots, and tools.

1140

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Hi new followers 🥹 Reposting my introduction from the #xodus. Hope everyone is enjoying bluesky as much as I am and finding new friends and communities! The #catpics are also great. On that note, let me also reintroduce Michael, 100% Grade "A" Basic Gray Tabby© and destroyer of indoor island bugs

120

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Lest we forget, Trump started this. And in my opinion, one of his only good executive orders. #tiktokrefugees, I’m sorry you lost the video site, but regs on foreign ownership of media cos are very common. Bytedance called the bluff and lost, and are now desperately kissing up to Trump.

010

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Thanks to all who liked and reposted 🥹 The response is extra special because this was my project during peak COVID. I spent weeks alone in the lab, doing my least favorite science: benchtop chemistry 🧪 (no offense to chemists, just not for me) Here’s some highlights from that awful time 🎬 😂

030

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

🧪 just published! we discovered the biggest sponges on coral reefs soak up tons of strange metabolites produced by cyanobacterial mats, and consider the ecological implications 🪸 and with that, my dissertation is published within 2 years!✨ #spongethursday 🔗 free access bit.ly/olingeretal2025ogm

37319

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Anything can be a Christmas tree if you try hard enough #skreeonk

041

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Update: I’m one martini and 100 epochs deep, and this…. might actually work? (the martini looks weird bc hubby put sherbet in it, as a treat)

020

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Nice! Yeah this has been on my to do list for a while, but havent had the hardware until I finally snagged a cheapish pc for a new field laptop lol. Seemed like a fun nerdy holiday mission. We’re in business now hopefully 😬

010

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Windows11 is so egregiously self-serving that a simple command line call to python redirects to *checks output* the MICROSOFT STORE?! Day 3 of setting up a secondary laptop and I feel only rage and deep longing for my MBP. Cuda better be worth it… *shakes fists at the void*

260

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

And both the fed *and* unfed Ornithodoros hermsi 🤘🏼

010

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

💯 I’d like to counter by expressing my appreciation of the woodchuck. Professionally useless to me, but very cute.

220

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

5 cruise ships in today, including the largest in the world, so I decided to work from home. We don’t have AC, so summers can be rough. But the view and Christmas winds more than make up for it 😌 📍 Northside, St. Thomas

170

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Anyone else unnecessarily annoyed by the hard wrap of text in coral list emails?

010

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I was planning on posting something science-related tonight, but then I slammed my thumb in my car door, so now I’m watching transformers while deciding whether to go to hospital because… it’s that bad? 😭 Also how did VFX peak in ‘07?

100

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Check out this groovy structure! This is monitoring site “Salt River Deep,” a 30m (98ft) mesophotic reef on the steep canyon wall off the north shore of St. Croix Fun fact: this site was once home to famous underwater habitats HYDROLAB ('77-85) & Aquarius ('86-89)  #3Dphotogrammetry #coralreef

3193

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Would love to see this network evolve to be better than the bird site! please connect with me if you’re interested in any of the following: coral reef ecology, scuba diving, photogrammetry / 3d modeling, statistics/ statistical modeling, AI, robotics/automation, or academia 💙

3202

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Even sponges can bleach. This barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta) is paling, indicating loss of its cyanobacterial symbionts, probably due to heat stress. Note the stark white coral (Porites astreoides) next to it. SW St. Croix, Nov 15 2024 📸Canon R5C #coralreef #underwaterphotography

a pale (light red) giant barrel sponge surrounded by bleached corals and other sessile Caribbean coral reef organisms

1273

Dr. Lauren Olinger @reefecologist.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

This is promising. And is a lot of $$ (but not enough for the long term projects that would have better chance of success). I’m still curious abt efficacy. Gonna look it up. Man I missed science social media 🥹

110