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An intuitive connection

For Juan Martín Cevallos López, what started as a sense of wonder for the ocean has flourished into a passion for oceanography and research that bridges disciplines.

Juan Martin Cevallos Lopez smiling at Hopkins Marine Station with aquarium tanks in the background
Image credit: Erica Wirth

As a first-year in the undergraduate course Oceans 71, Planet Ocean, Juan Martín Cevallos López, ’26, watched an animation that he now credits as being pivotal to his education.

The video progressively zoomed in on a coral in Ofu, American Samoa, ending with a microscopic close-up of a single coral animal’s inner workings. It demonstrated both the complexity and fragility of the reefs, threatened by warming waters.

Juan Martín, who prefers being referenced by his first and middle name, was captivated. “It was mind-blowing,” he recalled.

Growing up in Ecuador, Juan Martín spent his childhood exploring diverse ecosystems. He would take frequent trips to the beach from his hometown in the Andes, and he even lived in the Amazon rainforest for some time. These experiences shaped his early appreciation for the natural world. But it wasn’t until he was a student at Stanford, with recurring moments of awe and discovery like the one he experienced watching the coral video, that he found an enduring passion for studying the ocean and considered it as a career.

“It’s so intuitive as humans for us to feel connected to the ocean, and that connection is even stronger when you understand the science behind what we can observe in nature,” Juan Martín said.

He knew he wanted to get involved in research at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability’s Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, so this year he applied to Hopkins Internships - Summer Undergraduate Research Funds (HI-SURF). The program provides summer internships for undergraduate students to work directly with scientists on ongoing research.

Juan Martin Cevallos Lopez reaching down from a boat to collect gear from a researcher in the water
Juan Martín collaborated with researchers studying a key component of coral reefs in Monterey Bay. (Image credit: Jenny Adler)

During his summer at Hopkins, Juan Martín contributed to three different projects. He studied the impacts of ocean acidification on a particular species of seaweed, the development of bat star larvae in various temperatures, and the role of crustose coralline, a key component of coral reefs, in temperate environments such as Monterey Bay.

Throughout his research, Juan Martín was thrilled to be able to combine his knowledge of oceanography with other scholars’ expertise in marine biology and ecology. While marine biologists study the behavior and interactions of ocean species, oceanographers seek to understand the ocean more broadly, including physical and chemical characteristics like circulation and nutrient concentration.

“I want to be an oceanographer that consults and collaborates with ecologists – and it’s really amazing because that’s what I’ve been doing this summer,” he said.

Juan Martín hopes to continue doing research with faculty in the Oceans Department during the school year and plans to pursue graduate studies in oceanography. He originally envisioned remaining on the West Coast for his education, but after working with mentors from Italy, Spain, and Mexico this summer, he said he was inspired to think bigger.

“I realized that I don’t have to box myself in. The ocean is everywhere,” he said. “So I’m excited to see where it takes me, because it can literally take you anywhere.”

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