Erin Winick - Science Communicator

Erin Winick - Science Communicator Sharing stories about science and space 🚀BS Mechanical Engineering ⚙️Competitive pinball player Science communicator showing the creativity and fun in STEM.

Storyteller of International Space Station research,
Formerly of MIT.

09/11/2026

The rock saw is one of the essential sample processing tools on Nautilus Live. The rocks in this area of the ocean all have ferromanganese crust on the outside, making it a surprise to know what they are primarily made up of on the inside. The thickness of the crust shows how long that rock has been sitting there building up that crust. It takes millions of years to form like this! But the inside is what provides the real clues to the geology of the area. The insides revealed by the clean cut of the saw can help date the region, give clues to its formation, and give us a glimpse into the past.

Cutting open deep sea rocks for science! Have you really sailed on Nautilus Live if you haven’t taken a turn on the rock...
09/10/2026

Cutting open deep sea rocks for science! Have you really sailed on Nautilus Live if you haven’t taken a turn on the rock saw?
Throughout E/V Nautilus dives, teams use a robotic arm to collect rock samples that can be used for everything from dating the seafloor in an area, to better informing our understanding of how tectonic plates have moved in the past.
Channeling Ethan here, but it’s always a big moment to see what’s inside that rock, and what we can learn from it!

Time for the last dive of the expedition!!!(We still have a 9 day transit after this, but this is a huge milestone for N...
09/09/2026

Time for the last dive of the expedition!!!

(We still have a 9 day transit after this, but this is a huge milestone for NA181!)

09/07/2026

One of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had at sea is seeing the light of ROV Hercules slowly light up the water surface. It was legitimately so beautiful. The colors look cool on camera but it can’t really capture how spectacular the blues come through.

Thanks Renato Kane for the suggestion I do this, Dan for showing me around the deck and the daisy chain, and the deck chief Andrew for letting me be out there during this. It takes so many people and processes to make ocean exploration possible and it’s super cool to see yet another part of that up close aboard Nautilus Live.

One of my biggest passion projects to date is debuting at Rocky Mtn Pinball Showdown on September 12! Years in the maki...
09/04/2026

One of my biggest passion projects to date is debuting at Rocky Mtn Pinball Showdown on September 12! Years in the making, The History of Space Through Pinball Art dives in to the growth of space exploration through the incredible art of pinball machines with the help of Senior Art Director and Graphic Designer at Johnson Space Center, Blake Dumesnil.
Space is one of the most common unlicensed pinball machine themes throughout history. I compiled more than 100 space-themed pinball machines going back to the 1930s. In those machines you can see an evolution of art styles, space milestones, science fiction, technology and more. I take a trip through both arcade and space history to see how we’ve gotten from the Jetsons and bells and chimes, to LED screens and Space Shuttles.
Yes, I am currently still sailing at sea aboard E/V Nautilus but I will call in to the convention from the ship for a Q and A session after the video screening at 3:45pm on September 12 at the event.
And everyone will get to see it after I return. So so excited to share this with the world!

What does a month as an independent science communicator (spent largely at sea) look like? It’s been a heck of an August...
09/04/2026

What does a month as an independent science communicator (spent largely at sea) look like? It’s been a heck of an August because I’ve been back aboard Nautilus Live!

The start of the month was spent prepping for the expedition: getting ahead on work for my other clients, packing, reading up on expedition info, attending calls with the team.

Then we had to do some last minute travel scrambling to avoid Hurricane Lala! Our expedition started in Guam, which means almost the whole science team was connecting through Honolulu to get to the ship. So instead our travel team sent us through Tokyo! First time in Japan, and spent 2.5 hours in the airport, and then was off to Guam.

On the ship my job consists of:
- 1st and foremost is holding watch, which means during the times our remotely operated vehicles dive to the seafloor, I’m sitting in what is essentially the ship’s Mission Control. I’m sort of a commentator, sort of a moderator, sort of a translator for 8.5 hours a day, split into 2 sections. I work the 12-4 shift which means midnight to 4am and noon to 4pm. I’m facilitating the live conversations as we explore, and flagging any moments for the Nautilus team to share online.
- In between watches I’m doing ship to shores, which are calls with schools, museums, clubs and more where we highlight the science we are doing and answer questions. As the lead fellow I manage the schedule for these and who hosts them, I’m addition to hosting many myself.
- We also select 20-40 highlighted still images from what we saw each dive.
- As desired we help make social media posts, blogs, do press interviews, etc.
- Each fellow has a deliverable, or final project, that you pick individually to work on as well.

I’m trying to squeeze in every moment of sleep I can, and I’ll admit that has been a challenge. I honestly haven’t been feeling 100% my best physically out here this time for a number of reasons, but we are making it through.

The best parts about being on a ship like this is meeting some incredible scientists and seeing the work they do up close. I truly love this group I’m out here with. So grateful for the chance to sail for a 3rd time. 🌊

09/02/2026

We’re bringing the ocean joy to science livestreams over here on Nautilus Live! And in case you’re wondering what I’m up to during most of my time at sea, it’s this! I’m sitting watch as science communication fellow 8 hours a day helping guide science conversations during our ROV dives to the sea floor.

Send in a question if you tune in! Would love to have you all come along for all the exploration.

08/31/2026

In case you were worried I wasn’t paying attention to the incredible space news going on while I’m out at sea… I had to give the NASA teams a fellows science live stream shoutout as ROV Little Hercules was ascending from the deep sea back to the ship last night!

Huge congrats to the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team! So excited to see all the incredible strange new worlds you discover out there.

08/30/2026

Hard battle for which is better: E/V Nautilus Control Van and the bridge of the Enterprise! Both are truly exploring strange new worlds.

08/29/2026

We’re officially in the midst of tons of ROV dives around Wake Island! I’m standing watch (aka sitting in this control van) from midnight to 4am and noon to 4pm each day we are diving in the science communication fellow seat. We are providing context and helping facilitate conversation among the science team. Be sure to check out the livestream to follow along on all our dives over at Nautilus Live!

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1601 E NASA Pkwy
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