Over ninety percent of the ocean remains unexplored, yet one tiny submarine called Alvin has been plunging scientists into deeper depths of knowledge for over 50 years.TechKnow speaks with Alvin’s first female pilot and Duke University Oceanography Professor, Cindy Van Dover, PhD.

Van Dover says that training to be an Alvin pilot was “the most difficult thing,” she ever did in her life. Observing hydrothermal vents on Alvin made her realize “all the rules we knew seemed to be broken.” She recounts to TechKnow her trial by fire job training, deep sea mining apprehensions, and the lessons she continues to learn from down below.