May 24, 2001

Scripps Contacts: Mario Aguilera or Cindy Clark (858) 534-3624
E-mail: scrippsnews@ucsd.edu

POINT AND CLICK UNDER THE SEA

This mouse is all wet. Opening the door to the next stage of "bring it with you" technology, researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography are taking computer technology to new heights—or depths, rather—with their new underwater computer mouse. Born out of the need to adapt software developed for traditional computing applications into the underwater environment, the "marine mouse" allows a diver to point and click on objects that are displayed on an underwater computer screen. David Zawada (pictured), a graduate student at Scripps, is part of the team in Dr. Jules Jaffe’s lab (http://pandora.ucsd.edu) that developed the new device, used recently in studies to gauge the health of coral reefs via digital underwater photography.