After completing a master’s in clinical neuroscience at UCL, I spent the next six years living in the Marshal Islands. I learnt about their culture and the devastating impact nuclear testing has had on their traditional way of life. What fascinated me the most was learning about their extraordinary ability to interpret ocean swell patterns when navigating across hundreds of kilometres of seemingly featureless sea. This is known as 'Wave Piloting'. During my PhD I aim to uncover how Marshallese sailors build a spatial representation of the ocean and what this can tell us about spatial cognition. Through this project I aim to highlight the value of Indigenous knowledge.
