Dr Kathrin Bolstad
Kat Bolstad is a research assistant at Auckland University of Technology, where she recently graduated with her PhD thesis on cephalopod systematics.
Her previous marine experience includes a semester at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the United States studying isopods, three years at the New England Aquarium working on lobster and jellyfish husbandry, and a behavioural field study on Hector's dolphin in Akaroa, New Zealand.
Dr Steve O'Shea
Steve O'Shea is New Zealand's leading expert on squid and has been interested in colossal squid for many years. He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Earth & Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and a Discovery Channel Quest.
As a marine biologist, he is a recognised authority on the taxonomy and systematics of cephalopods (octopus and squid). He also has considerable experience in environmental impact assessments, conservation, fisheries surveys, biodiversity studies, documentaries, marine invertebrate fixation and preservation techniques, and museum curation.
Dr Tsunemi Kubodera
Dr Tsunemi Kubodera is a Japanese zoologist with the National Science Museum of Japan, in Tokyo.
On 30 September 2004, he was the first person to successfully photograph a living giant squid (Architeuthis dux) in its natural habitat.
Professor Eric J Warrant
Eric Warrant is a professor in zoology at the University of Lund in Sweden. His research interests include how nocturnal and deep-sea animals manage to see well in very dim light.
Professor Dan-Eric Nilsson
Dan-Eric Nilsson is Chair of Zoology at the University of Lund in Sweden, where he created the Lund Vision Group. His research interests are vision, eye design, and evolution.
Chris Paulin
Chris Paulin (Special Projects Officer, Natural Environment) is a marine biologist with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. He has published four books on New Zealand fish, and is co-author of Fiordland Underwater: New Zealand's hidden wilderness (1998).
His current research is on pre-European contact Mäori fish hooks made of wood, bone, stone, and shell.
Mark Fenwick
During his time at Te Papa, Mark Fenwick processed many animals, some of them rare, ranging from whales to squid, big and small.
Mark now works as a technician at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). There he is investigating the ecological impacts of fishing through analysis of video generated by a deep-sea imaging unit.
Bruce Marshall
Bruce Marshall is Collection Manager of Molluscs at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
He has published extensively on marine and terrestrial gastropods, freshwater bivalves, and monoplacophorans. He is particularly interested in deep-sea molluscs associated with decaying plant and animal remains, hydrothermal vents, and cold seeps. He is also interested in fossil land snails.
Dr Olaf Blaauw
Olaf Blaauw has been fascinated by deep-sea squid since he was very young, although his science career has meandered away from marine zoology proper.
He works at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in the fields of toxicology and systems biology. Olaf is an active member of the web-based community tonmo.com.
Dr. Carol E Diebel
Carol Diebel is the Director Natural Environment/Papatuanuku at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Her background is in biological oceanography, including the sensory biology and behaviour of open-ocean and deep-sea animals.
Behind the scenes
Preparing the colossal squid for examination and public display takes more than just scientists. A big team of people at Te Papa has been involved in developing the exhibition and the website, doing everything from making the tank and writing text, to liaising with the media.
To find out more about how the exhibition was put together, visit the Exhibition page.
