In the last Sciographies episode of the year, Dalhousie University pharmacology student
Gracious Kashéké tackles hosting duties to interview David Barclay for a change. When Dr.
Barclay isn’t moonlighting as the host of Sciographies, he’s an associate professor in Dal’s
Department of Oceanography and a Canada Research Chair in Ocean Technology Systems (Tier
II).

Having grown up in Victoria, B.C., Dr. Barclay spent many childhood vacations sailing along the
West Coast. But it was actually a gig as a student researcher and a lifelong fascination with
sound, music, and recording that led Dr. Barclay down a career path in physical oceanography
and underwater acoustics.

Now Dr. Barclay runs the Dalhousie Noise Lab where his team designs technology that can
withstand harsh conditions to record sound waves from the ocean’s surface all the way down
to its deepest trenches. His technology is an essential tool in the fields of naval defence, naval
communication, and marine biology.

Guest host Kashéké sits down with Dr. Barclay to talk about his upbringing, creative side, and
research (including that popular scientific paper on noise in the ocean at the beginning of the
pandemic).

Sciographies is brought to you by Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Science and campus-
community radio station CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

For more information about undergraduate student research opportunities in Dalhousie’s
Faculty of Science, visit dal.ca/science/urops.