About Edith Widder: Edith Anne "Edie" Widder Smith is an American oceanographer, marine biologist, and the Co-founder, CEO and Senior Scientist at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association.
I loved anything to do with animals from a very early age.
I think I have the best job in the world. Seventy-one percent of the planet is covered by water, we've explored less than five percent of the ocean, and there are so many fabulous discoveries that have yet to be made.
We've only explored about 5% of our ocean. There are great discoveries yet to be made down there - fantastic creatures representing millions of years of evolution and possibly bioactive compounds that could benefit us in ways we can't even imagine.
I never, ever would have imagined the kind of career I've had. It just wouldn't have occurred to me that anything like this could have been possible. I didn't have any such aspirations. And I still can't believe my good fortune.
I just was mesmerized by all of this life everywhere I looked. And so I wanted to be a marine biologist.
Exploration is the engine that drives innovation. Innovation drives economic growth. So let's all go exploring.
