Mark Kessel Email & Phone Number

New York, NY, US

Brooklyn, New York, United States

My role at the New York Aquarium involves the management of water quality for exhibits, quarantine systems, holding pools, life support systems, seawater supply, and meeting Animal Welfare Act regulatory standards for marine mammals and US Fish and Wildlife Service compliance standards for sea turtles. As supervisor of the Water Quality Laboratory, I.

Hauppauge, NY

• As a drinking water analyst at Suffolk County Water Authority, my responsibilities included staying apprised of drinking water policies and regulations, mentoring and training employees and interns; assisting senior.
• EPA 300.1, EPA 350.1, OIA-1677, SM-5310C, SM-5540C, standard prep for calibration of AOP Trojan UV filter, Sodium hypochlorite standardization, p.H., Alkalinity, Hardness, Conductivity, Color, Turbidity, Spread Plates.
• Thermo (Dionex) 2100 ICS (Proficient)
• Tekmar Phoenix 8000 TOC Analyzer / Hach QdB1200 (Proficient)
• Lachat QuikChem® 8500 Series 2 Flow Injection Analysis System with Omnion 3.0 software. (Proficient)
• Varian Cary 50 Bio UV-Visible Spectrophotometer. (Proficient)

Bohemia, NY

• Responsibilities:
• Created quarterly field schedules for compliance testing of sewage and industrial effluents using composite sampling.
• Supervised field technicians and trained them on their daily activities.
• Updated NY/NJ client compliance information via phone interviews and gathered documents.
• Collaborated with site managers to ensure proper and efficient test schedules and performance.
• Traveled throughout NY and NJ, including overnight stays and driving in adverse weather conditions.

Brooklyn, NY

• Responsibilities:
• Provided animal husbandry for acquired specimens.
• Organized life history/accession records for database entry and research projects.
• Supervised Volunteers & conducted educational speeches/tours.
• Designed & Repaired life support systems (PVC, glass drilling...).
• Arranged & Conducted airport pickups of newly acquired animals.

Blountstown, FL

• Responsibilities:
• Independently assessed a local fish farmer's operation & provided that farmer with a final report to be implemented in his management practices.
• Calculated food conversion ratios for ongoing research project involving growth studies of Gulf of Mexico Sturgeon.
• Performed necropsies, diagnosised & treated diseased fish with antibiotics, saline baths, copper sulfate and medicinal dyes.
• Surveyed fish from ponds/tanks for length & weights.
• Tagged Atlantic Sturgeon with radio transponders.

Blacksburg, VA

• Responsibilities:
• Snorkeled for, collected and identified various species of freshwater mussels in VA & TN streams that were used in propagation and conservation research.
• Assumed responsibility of a doctoral candidate's research specimens (smallmouth bass) in outdoor raceways and indoor tanks.
• Surveyed endangered mussels via quadrate sampling.
• Enumerated mussel glochidia for reproductive studies.
• Caught small mouth bass via rod & reel, transported them back to the Aquaculture Center and used them as host species for the parasitic life cycle of mussels.

Bohemia, New York

• Responsibilities:
• Feeding, breeding, and shipping mysid shrimp, sheepshead minnows, fathead minnows, and Hyallela azteca.
• Artificially inducing spawning conditions.
• Culturing artemia nauplii for food.
• Constructing and maintening tanks and life support systems.
• Using light tables to enumerate specifically aged fry and juveniles for shipment.

Masters Degree, Executive Master Of Natural Resources

Activities and Societies: Graduate Assistantship; Generated sustainability-related content for the Center for Leadership In Global.

Bachelor Of Science, Fisheries Science

Activities and Societies: Volunteer at VT Aquaculture Research Center under Mark Kidd's supervision (1996-1998). VT Aikido Club (1997).As.

Associates, Applied Science, Laboratory Technology

Activities and Societies: Philosophy Club (1993-1994). Intern at Cosper Environmental Services (1994).As a student of Suffolk County.