Cindy Lee Van Dover (born 1954) is the Harvey Smith Professor of Biological Oceanography and chair of the Division of Marine Science and Conservation at Duke University.
[1] Raised in Eatontown, New Jersey,[2] Van Dover attended Monmouth Regional High School[3] and graduated from Rutgers University in 1977 with a B.S.
[5] In 1982, Van Dover joined the first biological research expedition to the East Pacific Rise[6] and she had her first dive in the DSV Alvin on the Galápagos rift in 1985.
In addition to research, Van Dover has authored a popular book for the lay audience about the deep sea and her experiences as an ALVIN pilot (Deep-Ocean Journeys; Addison-Wesley, 1997, a.k.a.
She is the author of the first textbook on hydrothermal vents (The Ecology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents; Princeton University Press, 2000), is curator of ‘Beyond the Edge of the Sea’, a traveling exhibition of original deep-sea art by watercolor artist Karen Jacobsen, and is helping to develop Art and Science: Envisioning Ocean Depths, a mixed media exhibition.