Interviews: Dave Olds

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Dave is all smiles as he finishes a repair on Alvin.

 

Question:
When you were a young kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Dave:
My dad was a truck repair manager. When I was young I wanted to be an auto mechanic, probably because my Dad was one, but I was also interested in electronics. Mechanical things were always pretty easy for me, but I never really understood electronics. As I got older I realized that would be a real challenge, so it is what I went to college to study.

Question:
What are your main responsibilities as a member of the Alvin crew?

Dave:
My main responsibilities are to maintain submarine operations. That means doing pre- and post-checks on Alvin, looking at outside electrical systems, launch and recovery of Alvin and trouble shooting both the regular electrical gear that Alvin uses as well as complicated science sensors, some of which I have never seen before! But it is always challenging to work on something that you don't know about - you always learn a lot by doing that.

Question:
What do you do in a typical day?


Dave checks some of the electrical connections in one of the breaker panels on Alvin.
Dave:
We usually roll the sub out at 6 am, shooting for a 0730 or 0800 hours launch of Alvin. We'll do things like electrical power-ups, inspecting life-supporting equipment on Alvin (like checking the oxygen supply), checking to make sure the batteries are fully charged, checking equipment necessary to dive like squish cups (only kidding), checking gear like video and overlays so the scientists can properly interpret the imagery, and even doing windows - the view ports, polishing them - the same kind of stuff you do at the gas station! After that, I can have one of four roles on a daily basis that rotate so that each member of the at-sea group knows what do to for launching and recovering the sub. They are: 1) swimmer (2 swimmers are in the water while Alvin is being launched and recovered), 2) A-frame operator (used to launch and recover Alvin), 3) launch coordinator, or 4) Top Lab (where Alvin is monitored while it is underwater). After launching the sub, our responsibilities taper off. I'll work around the lab, doing stuff like fixing broken equipment, until around 1000 hours. The work starts up again around 1400 hours as we start preparations for the recovery of Alvin. Everyone in the group does a different job in the afternoon on a rotation schedule. We then work until we recover Alvin and can run our post-dive checks on the sub.

Question:
How did you end up working at Woods Hole in the Alvin group?

Dave:
I had a girlfriend in college that got a summer job at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Florida. When I went down to visit, I got inspired to do marine operations. I started volunteering at Harbor Branch and enjoyed myself, but I only saw it as a hobby. Anyway, when I graduated from college I started to work for a company down in Florida, but in my spare time I'd do things to fulfill this 'hobby', like work on AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles). I saw an advertisement for a DSRV-pilot position at Woods Hole, and through some contacts I'd made, I went up to Cape Cod for a visit and met some of the people in the group. Ironically, one week later when I returned to Woods Hole to have an official interview, one of my interviewers was a man I met the previous week! Needless to say, here I am now.

Question:
How did you get the nickname of "Spaceman"?

Dave:
Well, I had just gotten on board, and everyone needed a nickname. Bob Grieve, who was chief pilot when I first joined the group, was kind of in-charge of handing these out. I used to work for the space industry at Rockwell, and they hadn't really come up with anything else, so they called me "Spaceman". It's a stretch, but it's not as bad as it could have been, so I've kept it.

Question:
What is it you like most about working on Alvin?

Dave:
The work is good, sometimes challenging to figure out how to fix problems, and always interesting, but the best part of working in this group is the people and the friendships I have made. Not just with the Alvin crew, but with the whole ship. It took a little while, but it's really like a family here.

Question:
What do you do in your spare time?

Dave:
I'm not much of a hobbies man. If I'm not hiking or camping, you can probably find me working in my cousin's computer shop. It's a two-man operation, and I help out repairing computer systems. He and I will be working together after I leave the Alvin group at the end of this cruise. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family and working with my cousin.