Kakani Katija Katija Young
Personal Information
Born: Unknown
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: Hawaiian
Education
Edmonds College AAS 2000; University of Washington BS Aeronautics & Astronautics 2004; Caltech MS Aeronautics 2005, PhD Bioengineering 2010
Professional Life
Field of Study: Bioengineering
Institution/Corporation: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI); Caltech
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Society of Integrative & Comparative Biology (2020) Profession Association of diving Instructors*American Academy of Underwater Sciences*Divers Alert Network*American Geophysical Union*American Physical Society*American Society of Limnology & Oceanography*Seep-Sea Biology society*Sigma Gamma Tau (2003)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2011, National Geo Emerging Explorer; 2013, Kavli Research Fellow
Achievements: investigates ways that imaging can enable observations of life in the deep sea; has contributed to understanding the nutrient cycling in the oceans, biologically induced moxing of the oceans, the ecology of gelatinous & soft-bodied invertebrates in deep-sea environments & biologically inspired design; former ice dancer & member of the US International Figure Skating team; is a part of the Ocean vision AI Project; part of the team that developed Mesobot, a robotic which uses stereo cameras to follow & record slow moving marine creatures autonomously
Former ice dancer & member of the US International Figure Skating Team; she & her brother were national ice dancing champions & once were alternatives for the Olympics
Studied the mechanics of swimming & feeding marine organisms
Is a certified research diver
Discovered jellyfish not only push water into their bells, but drag an almost constant flume of water behind them
Leads the Bioinspiration Lab at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
She & her team developed tools to study the sea & life within it such as DeepPIV, ITAG, & autonomous underwater vehicles