Allison Cusick, PhD

Infinite Ocean is a collaborative initiative by FjordPhyto, NASA’s OCEANOS project, and Infiniscope, designed to increase public awareness of ocean health and the global importance of phytoplankton. The project will develop a series of interactive, bilingual (English and Spanish) educational modules using Infiniscope’s digital tools, including Tour-It and Simple Author, to create immersive virtual experiences that showcase oceanographic research and NASA’s remote sensing capabilities. These modules will introduce learners to key topics such as phytoplankton’s role in the marine food web, global nutrient cycles, and scientific methods for studying ocean health, both in the field and from space.

The educational content will be developed collaboratively by SMEs, with Allison Cusick leading content creation and project management. Dr. Martina Mascioni, a phytoplankton taxonomy expert and native Spanish speaker, will assist with content development and Spanish translation. The modules will be piloted during OCEANOS’s 2025 summer internship program with high school and university students, as well as a group of educators. Learner assessments will be conducted before and after the modules to evaluate their impact on scientific literacy and comprehension.

Upon completion, the modules will be freely accessible through Infiniscope’s online platform, making ocean science education available to diverse audiences worldwide. The project will conclude with presentations at conferences such as the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the Latin American Ocean Meeting, with potential for a peer-reviewed publication highlighting the project’s educational impact.