Edith Widder

Widder was born in Arlington, Massachusetts^[4] to Dr. David Widder, a Harvard University mathematics professor, and Dr. Vera Widder, a mathematician turned stay at home mother.^[5] She also had an older brother, David Charles Widder.^[6]

She graduated from Tufts University magna cum laude with a B.S. in Biology, from University of California, Santa Barbara with an M.S. in Biochemistry, and from University of California, Santa Barbara with a PhD in Neurobiology, in 1982.^[7]

Widder was a senior scientist and director of the Bioluminescence Department at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution from 1989 to 2005.^[8] Certified as a Scientific Research Pilot for Atmospheric Diving Systems in 1984, she holds certifications that qualify her to dive the deep diving suit WASP^[2] as well as the single-person untethered submersibles DEEP ROVER and DEEP WORKER.^[9] She has made over 250 dives in the JOHNSON SEA LINK submersibles.^[10] Her research involving submersibles has been featured in BBC, PBS, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic television productions.^[11][12][13]

A specialist in bioluminescence, she has been a leader in helping to design and invent new instrumentation and techniques that enable scientists to see the ocean in new ways. These include HIDEX, a bathyphotometer, which is the U.S. Navy standard for measuring bioluminescence in the ocean,^[14] and a remotely operated camera system, known as Eye in the Sea (EITS), an unobtrusive deep-sea observatory.^[15][16][17]

In 2005, Widder co-founded the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting aquatic ecosystems and the species they sustain by developing innovative technologies and science-based conservation action. While translating complex scientific issues into engineerable solutions, Widder is fostering a greater understanding of ocean life as a means to better, more informed ocean stewardship. In September 2006 she was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation^[18] and in 2010 she participated in the TED Mission Blue Voyage in the Galapagos.^[19]

In 2012, a team of scientists comprising Edith Widder, zoologist Tsunemi Kubodera and marine biologist Steve O'Shea successfully filmed a live giant squid (Architeuthis dux) in its natural habitat^[20] aboard Oceanx's MV Alucia.^[21]

In 2019, Edith Widder and Nathan J. Robinson filmed the first-ever footage of a live giant squid recorded in US waters.^[22] It was filmed 100 miles southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.^[23] This expedition was aboard the R/V Point Sur of the University of Southern Mississippi.

The 2025 documentary A Life Illuminated is about Widder.^[24]

Widder is married to David Smith, a computer engineer.^[25]

• 2006 MacArthur Fellows Program
• 2015 Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award^[26]
• 2018 Explorers Club Citation of Merit
• 2019 Eleanor Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award^[27]
• 2020 Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration established by the Marine Technology Society and the Society of Underwater Technology

Selected publications include:

• Widder, Edith A.; Latz, Michael I.; Case, James F. (1983). "Marine bioluminescence spectra measured with an optical multichannel detection system". The Biological Bulletin. 165 (3): 791–810. doi:10.2307/1541479. ISSN 0006-3185. JSTOR 1541479. PMID 29324013.
• Widder, E. A.; Latz, M. I.; Herring, P. J.; Case, J. F. (1984). "Far Red Bioluminescence from Two Deep-Sea Fishes". Science. 225 (4661): 512–514. Bibcode:1984Sci...225..512W. doi:10.1126/science.225.4661.512. PMID 17750854. S2CID 31510972.
• Widder, E. A.; Johnsen, S.; Bernstein, S. A.; Case, J. F.; Neilson, D. J. (1999). "Thin layers of bioluminescent copepods found at density discontinuities in the water column". Marine Biology. 134 (3): 429–437. Bibcode:1999MarBi.134..429W. doi:10.1007/s002270050559. S2CID 18255901.
• Johnsen, S. and E.A. Widder. (1999) The physical basis of transparency in biological tissue: Ultrastructure and the minimization of light scattering. J. Theor. Biol. 199: 181–198
• Widder, E. A. (2010). "Bioluminescence in the Ocean: Origins of Biological, Chemical, and Ecological Diversity". Science. 328 (5979): 704–708. Bibcode:2010Sci...328..704W. doi:10.1126/science.1174269. PMID 20448176. S2CID 2375135.
• Robinson, N.; Johnsen, S.; Brooks, A.; Frey, L.; Judkins, H.; Vecchione, M.; Widder, E. (2021). "Studying the swift, smart, and shy: Unobtrusive camera-platforms for observing large deep-sea squid."^[28]

• Collard, Sneed B. (2006). In the Deep Sea. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. ISBN 978-0-7614-1952-5.
• Season 5 – Episode 002 – Edith Widder - oceanographer, marine biologist, and co-founder of Orca (podcast).
• Wilson, Abigail. (2020). Edith Widder 1951-today. WomensActivism.NYC^{[permanent dead link]}
• Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea (2020). Bioluminescence. (podcast).
• Orca podcast (2019). Episode 1: A Q&A with ORCA founder, Senior Scientist, and CEO, Dr. Edie Widder (podcast).
• Ted Radio hour (2018). In Search of (podcast).
• Yale 360 Interview 2021. A Scientist Reveals the Bioluminescent Magic of the Deep-Sea World