Meenakshi Wadhwa
@minwadhwa.bsky.social
📤 1892
📥 517
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Director, Scripps Inst. Oceanography & Vice Chancellor, UC San Diego. Opinions are my own.
🪸 Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Wangpraseurt on receiving the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Faculty Innovation Award! What Daniel and his team are doing is nothing short of remarkable: developing scalable solutions for one of the planet’s most urgent ecological crises. Learn more at:
hybridreefs.com
20 days ago
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6 months since I arrived at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and I can honestly say that on most days there have been moments like this one, filled with awe and absolute wonder! What you are seeing here is a baby red octopus at Birch Aquarium… first time hatched, raised & settled in an aquarium!
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about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
PBS News
about 1 month ago
The four-astronaut crew of NASA’s Artemis II flew to the far side of the moon and set a record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human.
https://to.pbs.org/4cf655P
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Artemis II crew breaks distance record on mission around far side of moon
The four-astronaut crew of NASA’s Artemis II flew to the far side of the moon and set a record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human. Monday's seven-hour lunar flyby was the most ...
https://to.pbs.org/4cf655P
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The launch of Artemis 2 was profoundly moving… to see humanity go FORWARD to the Moon again after more than 50 yrs! I hope another generation is inspired to go explore and discover and innovate, to be the best that humans can be — and ultimately be inspired to be better stewards of our own planet.
about 1 month ago
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It was an honor to welcome UC Regent Maria Anguiano to our
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
campus where she saw the incredible work being done here, including the impactful work at the Tijuana river, robotic exploration of the ocean, and AI-driven visualization of coral reefs for conservation efforts.
about 1 month ago
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Incredible couple of days in Sacramento meeting with our CA representatives. Hope to strengthen
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
partnerships to increase our coastal, water, and wildfire resilience and to support the health and wellbeing of communities in our great state of California (and the planet!).
2 months ago
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So
#OSM26
in Glasgow is off to a great start with a fantastic plenary talk by Britney Schmidt— Icefin is so cool! Makes me wish for the day we will have such a robotic oceanographer in the ocean on Europa.
3 months ago
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We are looking for innovative and broad-thinking faculty colleagues to join us in understanding and protecting our planet! (And stay tuned for more faculty opportunities to come in the near future…)
apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04460
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Marine Natural Products/Marine Biotechnology - Assistant Professor
University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!
https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04460
3 months ago
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Congratulations to
@helen-amanda.bsky.social
and her team for the selection of the EDGE mission as
@ucsandiego.bsky.social
’s first PI-led NASA mission!
today.ucsd.edu/story/uc-san...
3 months ago
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Congratulations to Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Prof. Veerabhadran Ramanathan! I got to know Ram after arriving at Scripps (unfortunately do not overlap with him at U Chicago), and just love how he is still so energized and motivated by his science.
add a skeleton here at some point
3 months ago
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Is that lumpfish the cutest thing you ever saw?! Got to shake hands with an octopus (I know I’ll be visiting him frequently!) and see some incredible things at our experimental aquarium facilities — just another day here
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
3 months ago
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Heading home after a few days in Davos. Grateful for the opportunity to talk about the ocean, climate and sustainability, space and exploration with leaders from so many different sectors.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Today marks exactly 100 days since I joined
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
@ucsandiego.bsky.social
. It felt like a bit of a celebration to walk on Scripps’ campus today and feel moved by all the incredible science-inspired art works that are like little gems tucked in unexpected places!
4 months ago
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First sunset from my office
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
@ucsandiego.bsky.social
at the start of Winter Quarter. Here’s to a year of chasing new and amazing discoveries just beyond the horizon and finding magic in everyday moments. Happy New Year!
4 months ago
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This week’s absolute highlight was a tour of
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
’s RV Sally Ride - with
@astrodocscott.bsky.social
who operated Sally Ride’s KidSat payload on STS-86. This research vessel is a scientific & technological marvel, enabling tremendous ocean & seafloor measurements and sampling!
5 months ago
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Spotted Santa delivering presents underwater
@birchaquarium.bsky.social
yesterday. Happy holidays from
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
!
5 months ago
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Halloween celebrations
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
— ghosts, cool canines and a new variety of dogfish!
6 months ago
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My first 3 weeks on the job at
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
@ucsandiego.bsky.social
have flown by - learning about the amazing people who work here (including those pictured here from our world-class scientific diving program and ship operations) and the amazing things that we do here.
7 months ago
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I think I met my first native San Diegan today
@birchaquarium.bsky.social
… a gorgeous rosy boa! Also met Rusty, a handsome bearded dragon. Birch is a truly magical place.
7 months ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
7 months ago
#ICYMI
, we shared some big news this week! 🎉 Scripps Institution of Oceanography at
@ucsandiego.bsky.social
is proud to welcome esteemed Earth and planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa as the 12th director of our institution. 🪐 Hear directly from Dr. Wadhwa in this video:
youtu.be/lbFLXM6BBbI?...
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Introducing Meenakshi Wadhwa, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego
YouTube video by Scripps Oceanography
https://youtu.be/lbFLXM6BBbI?si=FcgiC-tpgkmkSfWE
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So excited to be here to serve the
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
community, and advance our mission to understand and protect our planet!
add a skeleton here at some point
7 months ago
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Amazed by Gaudi’s city…
8 months ago
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Tantalizing— but needs confirmation through careful analyses in laboratories in Earth. This is why we must bring back the samples that Perseverance has so carefully documented and collected!
add a skeleton here at some point
8 months ago
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Dubai at night… including amazing views of and from the top of Burj Khalifa!
8 months ago
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Snapshots from a memorable penultimate week in AZ… (picture of the Haboob courtesy of
@astrodocscott.bsky.social
& that of the gorgeous cake thanks to Kim Baptista)!
9 months ago
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Yesterday I had the opportunity to thank my long-time AZ friends and colleagues
@seseasu.bsky.social
for the many wonderful years of camaraderie, collaborations, and friendship I’ve enjoyed here. Definitely one of my best career and life decisions to come here 19+ years ago!
9 months ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
Daniel Pomarède
9 months ago
SPHEREx Discovers Extended Carbon Dioxide Coma in Interstellar Object 3I-ATLAS
spherex.caltech.edu/news/3i-atla...
#SPHEREx
#3IATLAS
🧪🔭
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Surprised and delighted to come across this earlier this week… art transforms the mundane into magic and proves that delight can often hide in plain sight.
#FallenStar
9 months ago
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www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/04/s...
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Scripps Oceanography’s new director aims to build collaborative studies toward ‘understanding and protecting our planet’
Planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa is due to return to her postdoctoral roots at UCSD in October after six years as director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/04/scripps-oceanographys-new-director-aims-to-build-collaborative-studies-toward-understanding-and-protecting-our-planet/?share=netttotnemewrrtwc0pr
9 months ago
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Soaking in another AZ sunset.
9 months ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
Katie Mack
9 months ago
Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.
add a skeleton here at some point
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Yesterday was my last day as Director
@seseasu.bsky.social
. I’m proud of what our school community has achieved over the last 6 yrs, building on a trajectory set in motion 19 yrs ago when SESE was founded. I know SESE will achieve greater heights in the coming years — I will be cheering them on!
10 months ago
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OK, so La Jolla sunsets are not so bad… and I can almost trick myself into seeing a green flash in the last image!
10 months ago
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One of the many things I will miss about living in Arizona is the sunsets… and this view from our balcony of said sunsets!
10 months ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
Nature
10 months ago
More than 280 NASA employees past and present, including at least 4 astronauts, have signed a declaration of opposition to the many drastic changes that the US administration is working to enact
go.nature.com/44UJqbk
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‘We dissent’: NASA staff declare opposition to Trump cuts
Declaration of dissent, which warns that science and safety are at risk, joins similar documents from staff at the EPA and the NIH.
https://go.nature.com/44UJqbk
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Dear Friends, sharing some news here about my upcoming transition. While I’m sad to be leaving
@seseasu.bsky.social
after 19 incredible years, I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to contribute to
@scrippsocean.bsky.social
in the years to come.
add a skeleton here at some point
10 months ago
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Recharging with nature-therapy (and friends-therapy!). Absorbing the beauty and tranquility of the Pacific Northwest, exploring the waterways east of Vancouver Island with friends - teaming with natural beauty and wild life (bald eagles, whales, sea lions!)!
10 months ago
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Reminded that “America the Beautiful” was inspired by the beauty of the Colorado Rockies. More important than ever to be reminded of all that is precious and beautiful about this country that I have chosen as my own — happy Independence Day weekend!
10 months ago
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Fun article in July issue of @arizonahighways (
www.arizonahighways.com/article/mart...
) by Matt Jaffe. Matt is an incredible writer, who recently also wrote this profile of @uarizona’s Michael Kotutwa Johnson @kotutwa that I found very moving - check it out:
www.arizonahighways.com/article/mich...
11 months ago
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Picture perfect day for taking in a ballgame at Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds) with family! And Cubbies won!!
12 months ago
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Celebrated the 50th anniversary of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University this week. Great to be back in my old stomping grounds with old friends from the 4th floor of Compton Hall!
12 months ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
Marshall Shepherd
12 months ago
Dust storm or Haboob in Chicago. Yep Chicago. My analysis...Whew, crazy weather Friday
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
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A Dust Storm In Chicago? - Here’s What We Know From Experts
A major dust storm impacted Chicago, Illinois on Friday. Here's what we know right now.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2025/05/16/a-dust-storm-in-chicagoheres-what-we-know-from-experts/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKUudpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHi_7cPvlsCDGsVbSP14paT0pA3Jjqmhl0PHv8cNrg9f1KI1zaSYrMHvJFBmB_aem_NosjEAAUgowKxEJ73lmuQA
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First time (amazingly!) on the University of Washington campus to give some talks. Loved talking to UW students and faculty (and catching up with an old friend from College!).
12 months ago
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Today was joyous. Took this photo in my office just before I met with each
@seseasu.bsky.social
faculty member promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations to Katrina Bossert, Joe O'Rourke, Elizabeth Trembath Reichert, Allison Noble, Alex van Engelen, Duane DeVecchio, and Jnaneshwar Das!
about 1 year ago
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Laurie is an incredible, inspirational leader and a dear friend. She had incredible head winds to contend with during her time at JPL and I know she gave it her all. Wish her all the very best as she moves on to her next chapter in leadership and impact (after a much deserved break!)!
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 year ago
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Great weekend in DC for the
#nasannualmeeting
about 1 year ago
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Had meant to post this last week, but just catching up now and sharing some of the amazing vignettes from
@seseasu.bsky.social
’s first, and hopefully annual, Community Art Show!
about 1 year ago
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A powerful short film on the scale of time, with a question we all need to ask: What is important in the time we have?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOVv...
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To Scale: TIME
YouTube video by To Scale:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOVvEbH2GC0
about 1 year ago
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One of our favorite hikes in the PHX area on a picture perfect day.
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Meenakshi Wadhwa
Paul Byrne
about 1 year ago
Read this. And then call your Representative and Senators to have them *fight* this wilful destruction of American scientific leadership.
arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
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Trump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA
“This would decimate American leadership in space.”…
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/04/trump-white-house-budget-proposal-eviscerates-science-funding-at-nasa/
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