TECHNICIANS

JOHN DICKENS (he/they)
Faculty Research assistant

I am a Faculty Research Assistant for the Lubchenco-Menge lab and lead field technician. I manage our lab equipment, plan and lead field logistics, and coordinate/mentor undergraduate researchers. I started as a volunteer in the lab in 2018 and became a seasonal technician in 2019. Following that, I earned a M.Sc. in Marine Resource Management at OSU and then returned to the Menge lab as faculty in 2021. For questions regarding volunteering or working with us please contact me at john.dickens@oregonstate.edu

BRENNA ROTHMAN (SHE/HER)
​SEASONAL TECHNICIAN

I am a seasonal research technician with the lab, and have been working with the Lubchenco-Menge Lab since February 2021. I first started as a volunteer, until summer 2022 when I was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Award to study the reproductive timing of Pycnopodia helianthoides, the sunflower sea star. I then graduated from Oregon State with a B.S in Biology with an option in Marine Biology and a minor in Chemistry. All of these experiences led me to become a technician here in the lab, and it has been a wonderful experience. 

For questions about field work, volunteering, and intertidal FAQs, my email is rothmanb@oregonstate.edu

SAILOR BENITEZ (she/her)

​I am a seasonal research technician for the Lubchenco-Menge Lab. I graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with an option in Conservation, Resources, and Sustainability. I first got involved with the lab my junior year of undergrad when my interest in marine studies grew and I wanted to gain more knowledge and fieldwork experience in marine and intertidal ecosystems. During my senior year of undergrad I studied abroad through the School of International Training in Australia where I gained the bulk of my fieldwork experience; studying the rainforest, Great Barrier Reef, and cultural ecology. After I graduated from my undergrad I entered into this position as a seasonal research technician where I am part of the ONSHORE team where I assist with installing and monitoring long-term research projects and help with lab responsibilities outside of the field. 

The Lubchenco-Menge Lab is a great environment to become more educated in marine studies while having fun! For questions about volunteering in the lab or fieldwork email me at benitezs@oregonstate.edu. 

Brandon Russell
PISCO Mooring Technician

Brandon completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 2007 from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada with a specificity in fisheries biology and algal ecology.  He spent the next seven years at the University of British Columbia’s Open Water Research Station as part of a research program studying energetics and nutrition associated with foraging and diving physiology of Steller sea lions, Northern fur seals, and Pacific white-sided dolphins.  He joined the Alaska SeaLife Center in 2015, beginning with the Pacific walrus monitoring project and migrating to the Arctic Seals (PHOCAS) project as the SeaLife Center's project manager, examining energetics and body condition of ice-dependent seals to help better-understand physiological constraints of these habitat-threatened arctic species.  He joined PISCO as the Offshore Mooring Technician in 2019 and is in charge of maintaining an array of moorings off of Strawberry Hill, Oregon. These moorings are part of a long-term monitoring program, ongoing since 1999, that seeks to increase our understanding of oceanographic processes in the inner shelf region and its linkages to larger-scale oceanographic processes. These moorings span a depth range of 15-70 m and collect data on a variety of parameters including current profiles, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, conductivity, fluorescence, pH, pCO2, and others.