SCHMIDTOCEAN INSTITUTE
“It’s our pantry, it’s our pharmacy and it’s our playground,” philanthropist Wendy Schmidt says of the ocean. The former Silicon Valley businesswoman, who also happens to be an accomplished competitive sailor, has always had a seemingly unquenchablethirst tolearnmoreaboutthe seas. Though she has spearheaded multiple nonprofits to tackle other big issues, from human rights to renewable energy, a major focus of her work has been the deep blue.
In 2009, she cofounded the Schmidt Ocean Institute with her husband, Eric, the former CEO of Google, to advance oceanographic research. “The idea for the institute was really a combination of my passion for the ocean and Eric’s desire to see the evolution of land- and space-based technologies accelerate our understanding of it,” she says.
The institute was one of the first organizations to make a sophisticated research vessel available to the scientific community at no cost and in exchange for making the findings freely available. “[The Schmidts] realized that one of the hurdles for really knowing our ocean was the expense of going to sea,” says Jyotika Virmani, a noted oceanographerandexecutivedirector ofthe institute.
Over the past decade, the 272-foot R/V Falkor has carried out 75 expeditions, while the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian has completed more than 400 dives in four years. As a result, over one million square miles of the ocean floor have been mapped and a myriad of remarkable discoveries made. Take, for instance, a new coral reef that’s taller than the Empire State Building, or a 150-foot siphonophore, which is now the longest known sea creature. Falkor is also one of the only science vessels that have continued at-sea research during the pandemic.
At the same time, Schmidt is investing in promising technologies designed to improve ocean health, via the nonprofit Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, which, for example, backed Saildrone, a company that designs wind- and solar-powered drones to collect ocean data sans emissions. “You really have an opportunity to lead,” Schmidt says. “You’re able to put the investment into a proof of concept, into something to demonstrate a new way forward.” Conversely, she says, governments can’t afford to take such risks, and industry is invariably preoccupied with return on investment.
To Schmidt, a more comprehensive view of the world beneath the waves is vital for humanity. “We know more about thebacksideofthemoonthan wedoabout the ocean,” she says. “I don’t think you can address any environmental issues on land without understanding what’s happening at sea.” Virmani adds that without this fundamental knowledge, “it’s like we’re living in a three-story house without knowing what’s on the first floor.”