July 19, 2025 – Experience Rip Currents in Virtual Reality

Kathleen Fallon, New York Sea Grant and Jase Bernhardt, Hofstra university. Come learn more about the dangers of rip currents and experience them in virtual reality (VR). Attendees will have the opportunity to try out a VR simulation of what it is like to be caught in a rip current and learn how to escape one. Then, the next time you go to the beach, you will be able to break the grip of the rip.

Photo credit: https://news.hofstra.edu/2022/02/28/rip-current-program-shares-in-1-3-million-grant-awarded-for-ny-sea-grant-research/

 

Where did you go to school?

Cornell University (undergrad) and Penn State (grad)

 

What is your area of research?

Weather warning and risk communication

 

Who or what inspired you to become involved in marine science?

I am a meteorologist by training, and the coasts have a huge impact on weather conditions and societal vulnerability.

 

What qualities do you think are important in order to become a scientist?

The motivation to understand and explain how processes work.

 

Why is your research topic important?

My research topic is improving societal resilience to deadly weather hazards. Rip currents at the beach are one example of a meteorological hazard that unfortunately claims many lives each year, and we are working on outreach tools to increase awareness and save lives.

 

What will you be bringing with you to the “meet with an Oceanographer” day?

I will bring the virtual reality rip current simulation that our team has developed. The simulation allow people to see what a rip current is like and learn what to do when caught in one, without actually having to experience a rip current in real life.

 

What is the best advice you have for people interested in becoming involved in your field of research or in marine sciences?

Try to think about ways you can improve society through your passion for science. No idea is too small or too “out there.”

 

What is your favorite ocean organism?

Starfish